Claude Giroux Video: Watch Flyers Star Avoid Cheap Shot from Evgeni Malkin

As the NHL's leading scorer this season with 37 points, it seems like everything has been going right for diminutive Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux. That continued on Thursday night when his Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 and he avoided a cheap shot from forward Evgeni Malkin.

For some reason, it appeared as though the Penguins superstar forward took a swing at Giroux's head as the players were heading toward the bench. Giroux has officially come into his own as an elite player this season thanks in part to his quickness, and that was on display in this instance.

Giroux gives up roughly four inches and 25 pounds to the much-larger Malkin, but he showed elusiveness that even Muhammad Ali would be proud of in ducking Malkin's intended punch. The incident shows how intense the rivalry between the Flyers and Penguins is as Malkin isn't known for resorting to such tactics.

That is usually reserved for pesky forward Matt Cooke, although he played nice on Thursday. The Flyers played nicely in their own right, as the win allowed them to leapfrog the Penguins in the Atlantic Division standings and the overall Eastern Conference standings, where Philly now sits in first.

Perhaps Malkin and the Penguins felt they could get tough with the Flyers as Pens superstar Sidney Crosby sat out the game for precautionary reasons. The Flyers are typically an intimidating team, but Pittsburgh might have felt it could push around Giroux without fear of retribution.

Whatever the case, Malkin's tactics certainly weren't effective as Giroux added another assist to his league-leading point total and the Flyers ultimately came out on top. There are sure to be plenty more battles like this throughout the season, and perhaps even in the playoffs.

At this point, the only way to stop Giroux may be to take him out, but even that seems like an impossible task right now. Giroux is the biggest reason for the Flyers' success thus far, and that figures to be true moving forward as well.