Claude Giroux returns to practice

As the Philadelphia Flyers are still trying to recover from a forced lengthy break due to a COVID-19 outbreak and several players hitting the league’s protocol list, they are getting one key forward back for their scramble up the standings.

Claude Giroux is set to return to practice on Tuesday, just days after a terrible shorthanded defeat against the Boston Bruins with the beautiful backdrop of Lake Tahoe.

The Flyers came back to play two games—one being the outdoor extravaganza—since their personal lockdown. The non-Bruins beating was a sneaky loss in the shootout by the hands of the New York Rangers, which you could easily chalk up to missing a large portion of their roster.

Now that Giroux is back in the fold, and more importantly back with his family, there is less of an expectation for Philadelphia to just lay down and lose some games.

The captain has 11 points through 13 games—10 of those being assists—and will bring so much offensive help to a top-six that was forced to have Michael Raffl as a second-line winger. One would come to expect a reunion on the top line with Sean Couturier and Joel Farabee, but with more forwards still missing, head coach Alain Vigneault might opt to balance the lines and still switch things around.

Next in this increasingly weird, wacky and wild season for the Flyers is a revenge game against the Rangers on Wednesday night, with a breezy weekend scheduled for them as they head north to face the abhorrent Buffalo Sabres in a two-game series.