Giroux OT goal lifts Flyers past Jets

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux answered any questions about whether he'd be able to play Monday against the Winnipeg Jets.
Giroux scored with 13.6 seconds left in overtime to give the Flyers a 3-2 win against the Jets at Wells Fargo Center.

Philadelphia (37-25-13) holds the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Flyers and Detroit Red Wings each have 87 points after Detroit defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Monday, but Philadelphia is in the East's final playoff spot because it's played one fewer game.
With the final seconds of overtime ticking away, Giroux was first on the puck after Dustin Byfuglien's shot missed the Philadelphia net. He led a 2-on-1 with Shayne Gostisbehere and tried centering a pass. Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele tipped the pass, but Gostisbehere knocked down the puck and backhanded a pass ahead to Giroux, who was alone in front of Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec. Giroux lifted a wrist shot off Pavelec's shoulder and into the net.

"I was going to change. I was pretty tired," said Giroux, whose seven career overtime goals are the most in Flyers history. "I tried to get back because they had a 3-on-2 and they missed the net. I was able to get it and had a breakaway. Was pretty tired, I couldn't make the pass. [Gostisbehere] did a good job of recovering the puck and I put it in. ... I was in front of the net by myself. Tried to shoot it and it trickled in. I was too tired to celebrate, so I just put my arms in the air."
It was unknown whether Giroux would be able to play Monday after he sat out the final 2:15 of the third period of a 2-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday after hitting his head hard on the boards on a check by the Coyotes' Martin Hanzal.
Giroux didn't take part in Philadelphia's optional morning skate Monday but said he felt fine. Teammates, however, said they were concerned.
"I had no clue [if he'd play]," Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds said. "We had that optional this morning, and he didn't skate. I talked to him and he said he was good, but you never know."

Giroux turned out to be just fine, playing 19:02 and getting an assist in addition to the goal, his fourth in the past five games.
"[Giroux] is an extremely competitive guy," said Flyers goalie Steve Mason, who made 26 saves. "He's someone everybody in this room looks to in big moments. He has a way of finding the back of net like that. We needed it more than ever right there."
Gostisbehere said his part in the winning goal was just a quick reaction to a busted play.
"[Giroux] had to get the puck through and nine out of 10 times he normally does," Gostisbehere said. "It hit a stick, popped in the air. I just followed it up and tried to time it where it landed and tried to bang it out of the way because [Scheifele] was going the other way. Thought it worked out. The timing was good. Just glad it worked out. Lucky play, desperation. [Giroux] had to finish it too and he did a heck of a job."

It was a risky play by Gostisbehere to take a swing at a bouncing puck. A miss could have started the Jets on a 3-on-1 the other way.
"I'll take his calculated gamble any time," Simmonds said. "He's generally pretty good when he's doing things like that, and I think you saw that again today. Was a really heady play. He pokes the puck away from the guy, hits his hand, he stops it, whacks it to [Giroux] two feet in front of him, and [Giroux] puts it in. That's pretty impressive."
Simmonds and Mark Streit scored in the second period to put Philadelphia ahead 2-0.
Scheifele had a goal and an assist, Blake Wheeler scored, and Pavelec made 29 saves for the Jets (31-38-7).

Wheeler tied it 2-2 at 2:35 of the third period with his 20th goal. It came after Scheifele made a great individual effort for the Jets' first goal, intercepting a pass in the defensive zone and scoring on a breakaway at 6:28 of the second period.
"You get down by a couple quick goals to start the second, and Scheifele, that was a big goal for us, gives us some life," Jets forward Adam Lowry said. "And then another great pass by him to Wheeler, [and] we're right in this game."
Simmonds said the Flyers didn't panic despite seeing their two-goal lead disappear.

"Was surprisingly calm on the bench," he said. "No one panicked. We knew we were doing the right things. I think they scored on their first shot of the period, and we had carried the action to that point. Little worry sets in, but I think we responded pretty well."
Philadelphia and Detroit will play April 6 at Joe Louis Arena, but the Flyers said their focus is on their next game, Wednesday against the Washington Capitals (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360).
"We've got to be ready for that game first," Simmonds said. "... We've just got to worry about ourselves. As long as we play our game, we should be good here."