The Philadelphia Flyers remain without star Claude Giroux in the lineup after the center suffered an upper-body injury on Friday.
The Flyers ruled Giroux out of Tuesday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes after he was unable to practice, according to Philly.com. Giroux "may have a concussion" and has now missed the last two games for the team. He took a hard hit from PK Subban against the Montreal Canadiens, and his next chance to play will be on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild.
General manager Ron Hextall spoke with the team website and said that Giroux was able to skate a bit during practice on Sunday, but that he was not ready to return. Hextall said that Sean Couturier was ready return after missing nine games and that Michael Del Zotto will be having surgery on his wrist. Couturier was playing well before he was injured, and this season, the team is 5-9-4 without him in the lineup.
Couturier plays a number of roles for the team, including on the power play and penalty kill units. Giroux wears a number of hats as well, and the Flyers are hoping his absence is a short one. Giroux has not been confirmed to have a concussion, but he was hit high by Subban on Friday and fell hard on the ice as a result of the play.
The Flyers are in the mix in the Eastern Conference for a wild card spot, but they have a number of teams to pass to get into the postseason. The Flyers are currently 26-22-11 with 63 points, putting them five points back of the Penguins in the second wild card spot. The Senators, Hurricanes and Devils are ahead of the team in the standings.
