Giroux: Flyers will ‘bring the fans back on our side' against Penguins

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With just two points in the standings, the Flyers are the worst team in the NHL seven games into the 2013-14 season. You can’t blame fans for being dismissive or downright pissed off with the direction of the franchise at the moment.

Meanwhile, Claude Giroux is struggling to meet what are perhaps some unrealistic expectations as both the captain of this sinking ship and the so-called “best player in the world.” The 25-year-old has been held without a goal so far and has just two points total, which undoubtedly has a lot to do with Philadelphia’s 29th-ranked offense.

Obviously Giroux and the other guys in the dressing room can feel the negativity, but he offered a promise of sorts before Thursday’s tilt with the hated Pittsburgh Penguins. Per Sam Carchidi of the Inquirer, the Flyers are out to win you back tonight.

"Tonight’s gonna be a game to bring the fans back on our side and show them that we’re a good team and can win games," Giroux, who is still looking for his first goal, told reporters after the morning skate.

Carchidi also got Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma's take on the rivalry and more from this matchup.

It’s good to hear Giroux is still frothing at the mouth to get him some of Sidney Crosby, but backing up that statement might be difficult. The Pens enter tonight in first place in the Metro Division (champions will receive screen-printed skinny jeans instead of traditional hats and T-shirts), and are third in the NHL averaging just shy of four goals per game.

The way they’ve been skating, it’s hard to believe the Flyers would provide much in the way of a problem for Pittsburgh right now. Giroux however drew a comparison of these first seven games to how it felt when they were down 3-0 to the Boston Bruins in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Via CSN’s Sarah Baicker:

I don’t know. There was definitely a feeling that series might turn around for the Flyers, which it did—they won 4-3 and eventually made their way to the Finals. It’s certainly possible they will rebound this season as well. That said, I don’t know that they’re on the cusp of breaking out of this slump quite yet.

We’ll see. On nights like tonight, it doesn’t matter how awful the Flyers are. There’s enough bad blood in these two dressing rooms that we might see some fireworks on the ice. Who knows, maybe a big rivalry game is exactly what the Orange & Black need to get their swagger back.

>> Tonight will bring fans back on our side, Giroux says [Philly.com]

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