How Claude Giroux's Ankle Injury Will Affect the Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers received some bad news Tuesday when the club announced that captain Claude Giroux would likely miss the next two games with an ankle injury.

Later on Tuesday, Tim Panaccio saw something no Flyers' fan wants to see.

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Multiple sightings of Giroux confirm what we suspected with his ankle: crutches and a walking boot

— Tim Panaccio (@tpanotchCSN) November 19, 2014"

In a conference call with reporters later on Tuesday, general manager Ron Hextall tried to reassure Philadelphia fans when he announced that Giroux would heal in "days as opposed to weeks" as reported by Randy Miller of NJ.com.

So what does Giroux's absence mean for the Flyers? Well, plenty.

First, it's clear that Giroux is the lynchpin that makes the Flyers go. He has more points than any player in the league since the start of the 2011-12 season and yes, that includes Sidney Crosby.

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Claude Giroux (248) has more pts than anyone since start of '11-12: Kessel (236), Malkin (233), Crosby (222), Ovechkin (216), Stamkos (216).

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) November 18, 2014"

Last season, Giroux was the key to the Philadelphia attack. The Flyers won only five games last season in which their captain did not manage at least a point. When Giroux scored a goal last season, the Flyers were 21-2-1.

This season, Giroux has scored in 13 of the Flyers' first 16 games. The team is 0-3 when he fails to register a point.

LM Otero/Associated Press

Giroux has also been a key component to the success of Jakub Voracek who presently leads the league in scoring. The two constitute what is arguably the most effective offensive duo in the league. Giroux has assisted on more than half of Voracek's seven goals. Will Voracek be as productive without Giroux in the lineup? It is unlikely as Giroux is one of the league's best setup men.

Voracek recently discussed Giroux's importance to his recent success with Katie Strang of ESPN.com. "Claude's been a top player for the past four years," Voracek said prior to Giroux's injury. "He's so good and so strong on the puck and so competitive. Obviously, he's smart with the puck and he draws attention with the puck so that opens up space for [me]."

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

In addition to weakening the top line and the overall offense, the loss of Giroux hurts the Philadelphia power play. Nine of the captain's 21 points have this season come when the Flyers have the extra attacker.

The Flyers recalled center Scott Laughton from the AHL to replace Giroux in the lineup. Will Laughton step up and take Giroux's spot on the top line, or will coach Craig Berube move Brayden Schenn back to his natural center position and have him skate on a line with Voracek and R.J. Umberger as he did in practice Tuesday, as reported by Frank Seravalli of The Philadelphia Daily News? 

Perhaps worse yet, the Flyers are a team that need to score a lot of goals to win games. Philadelphia was ranked 26th in the league in both shots allowed-per-game (33.2) and goals allowed-per-game (3.19). Losing their offensive catalyst makes it tougher for Berube's club to win a high-scoring contest.

The Flyers can certainly get by without their captain for a game or two. They will need some other player to step up and elevate their game, but over the short term, that's not unrealistic. But if Giroux should miss significant time, the affect on the Flyers could be significant and catastrophic.