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Claude Giroux and the 200-Foot Game
Heading into the 2013-14 season, the number one concern I have about the Philadelphia Flyers is the improvement of their commitment to team defense. For all the criticism that got directed the way of the club's lack of puck movers on the blueline corps and inconsistent goaltending last year, I felt that an even bigger issue was a general lack of enthusiasm among the team's top six forwards for embracing a more defensively responsible style of play.
Peter Laviolette's system is skating-oriented and it is no secret that the coach himself wants to see his team break out of the defensive zone with speed and forecheck aggressively. That does NOT mean, however, that the forwards can focus solely on the attacking side of the red line.
With the late-season emergence of Erik Gustafsson and the off-season acquisition of Mark Streit, the Flyers are hopeful that they now have the personnel to strike a better balance between puck moving and stay-at-home defense. That should help the club spend less time in their own of the ice and more in the opposition end.
Even so, if the team is going to make a significant dent in its goals against average, the forwards as a whole will need to do a better job of helping out defensively. That's especially true after pucks get turned over and support is needed on the backcheck.
That particular improvement must start with the top line taking a leading role in setting a two-way tone for the club. A lot of burden will fall on Claude Giroux -- the team's captain, best player, and emotional leader -- to buy into that concept and lead by example.
Generally speaking, I think Giroux is an adequate defensive player. There have only been a few occasions in his career where I thought he wasn't at least making an effort defensively. Even so, he has it in him to get better -- or at least more consistent -- in his defensive play without the puck.
The video example below is one of the few cases where Giroux simply made no effort to help out defensively. Let's look first at the play itself and then put context in what happened and why it was so bothersome.
OK, so what are we looking at here? Giroux lost the puck in the offensive zone and the opposing team breaks out on a counter-rush with defenseman Victor Hedman (the eventual goal scorer) leading the play to make it an outnumbered rush. Giroux makes no backchecking effort, loafing back into the defensive zone. Had he backchecked as hard as possible, there is a chance -- not a guarantee, but a chance -- he could have helped prevent a goal by picking up the opposing defenseman on the 3-on-2.
Now let's add situational context to the play. At the time it happened, it was the opening minute of the third period with the Flyers trailing by two goals (3-1). If the team was to have any chance at a comeback, it absolutely could not afford to give up another goal. The situation dictated that the captain give his very best effort defensively once the puck was lost.
A little further context: the Flyers were playing the second half of back-to-back games on the road. They had just won by blowout the previous night and were looking to build a three-game winning streak to pull up to the .500 mark after an 0-3-0 start to the season.
Any way you slice it, it was a situation where Giroux had to dig as deep as possible and give his all to get back and assist his defensemen and goaltender. Instead, he did the exact opposite. Giroux is only human, and he gave in to fatigue and frustration by quitting on the play. But that is not an excuse for a lack of effort.
Something else that really bothered me about the aftermath of that play was that there was no accountability or consequence. Giroux deserved to be benched for the rest of the game, but was not. Had it been a lesser forward, he would not have seen the ice again. Meanwhile, fans and most of the media focused solely on criticizing how shaky backup goaltender Michael Leighton played in the game -- he unquestionably was bad in the game, along with pretty much the entire team.
This isolated clip was NOT typical of Giroux's general defensive effort. If it was, the team would have an even bigger problem on its hand. It was symptomatic of a larger problem that plagued the team all last season.
Lots of Flyers forwards wanted to be difference makers on the offensive end of the ice, and sometimes they tried to do a little too much. That's understandable. But which of the top six forwards regularly demonstrated that they wanted just as badly to be the ones to step up to be the ones who made the unglamorous-but-vital backchecking plays?
Giroux needs to be that guy if he wants to be the sort of captain (such as Chicago's Jonathan Toews) who truly inspires his teammates to elevate their total games. Even with his recent hand surgery, I have full confidence that Giroux will have a big offensive season in 2013-14 if he stays healthy. But I'd also like to see him challenge himself to be as consistently effective on his own side of the red line as he is when he is on the attack.
The team's captain shown a complete game at times during his career, and he has the capability of getting others to follow his lead in taking pride in a lower team GAA just as much as increasing the rate of Philadelphia goals scored. That message needs to be delivered on the ice as well as verbally, and it needs to be taken to heart.
Team defense is everyone's responsibility: forwards, defensemen and goalies need to work in unison. The guy with the C on his jersey has to be at the forefront of making sure there is consistent buy-in to that ideal.
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Rookie Camp Day Three
I will update today's blog this evening with a report from the third and final day from the Flyers' rookie camp in Voorhees. They will play the Capitals rookies tomorrow afternoon in Arlington, VA, in the culmination of the two teams' respective camps.
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