Game 82 was all about No. 28.
Flyers captain Claude Giroux capped a spectacular comeback season with his first career hat trick in his 738th regular-season game, helping the Flyers clinch a playoff spot in a convincing 5-0 victory over their rival New York Rangers (see observations).
Teammates sensed a quiet confidence in their leader that something special was about to transpire.
“I think he knew coming in that wanted to lead by example in this game and he did just that,” said Brian Elliott, who stopped all 17 shots he faced for his first shutout as a Flyer.
After every goal, a soldout Wells Fargo Center crowd repeatedly chanted “MVP” in recognition of Giroux’s season-long impact.
“I think he deserves those chants and the support from everyone,” Sean Couturier said. “He was probably trying to put his game face on, but I think he was loving it probably, enjoying it and I think he deserves it.”
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“Yeah, it was hard to miss," Giroux said. "They were great tonight.”
Giroux couldn’t help but break out a rare smile on the bench. In part, the game was out of reach and the Flyers had finally secured a playoff spot. They'll face the Penguins in the first round.
Sitting next to Travis Konecny helped take the edge off even more.
“I was trying to stay serious, but the stuff he was saying, I just couldn’t hold it,” Giroux said. “I think I see myself a little bit in him, and I used to be pretty loose and sometimes it got me in trouble. We have a good relationship, so it’s good.”
Giroux’s three-goal performance gave him career-highs with 34 goals and 102 points as he became the first Flyer to reach the century mark since Eric Lindros registered 115 points during his only 100-point season of 1995-96.
Most impressively, it completed one of the most remarkable one-year turnarounds in franchise history — a 44-point improvement from an injury-plagued 2016-17 season as Giroux battled through hip issues following offseason surgery. In doing so, Giroux also became the 11th player in NHL history to register his first 100-point season at 30 or older.
“Last year was really tough, especially mentally,” Giroux said. “To be able to start the year and play, I think, with one guy the whole year playing with Coots. As a winger, I don’t always do the right things, but I get away with it because I got Coots making the smart plays.”
Giroux finished the season on a 10-game point streak (eight goals, 11 assists), which may have solidified his case for the Hart Trophy. Among the 16 playoff teams, Giroux led all players with 44 points in 29 games over the final two months of the regular season.
While the Flyers' captain is the runaway winner in Philadelphia, he’s now firmly in the conversation along with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov, New Jersey’s Taylor Hall and Los Angeles’s Anze Kopitar among outside voters.
“Well, for me, he’s never needed the validation," Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said, "but if this is the exclamation point tonight that he put on his season in the most important game of our season, if that doesn’t say to the outside world, I don’t know what would.”