from Ed Barkowitz of the Philadelphia Inquirer,

Claude Giroux understands the criticism. He’s about to become the Flyers’ all-time leader in games played by a team captain. He says it’s a great honor to pass Bobby Clarke, but knows it’s a hollow accomplishment since the Flyers haven’t done much in the postseason during his tenure.

“It’s very special. Clarkie is probably the best player ever to play in this organization,” Giroux said. “He’s been great for me. Early in my career, he helped me a lot. It feels great.”...

Giroux on Tuesday will play in his 611th game as Flyers captain. No forward in the NHL has played more regular-season minutes since 2012-13. Talking nine years here, so that’s impressive. He’s on a run of 321 consecutive games played, but just turned 33 and knows that the Flyers’ sluggish start (3-2-1) could mean another disappointment.

“We know we can play better. When you lose 6-1, you obviously know you’re not doing something right,” Giroux said, referring to the score of the Flyers’ two regulation losses. “We know we have a good team. We know we can win some hockey games.”

It’s getting late early, as Yogi Berra used to say. As it stands today, the Flyers would not be in the playoffs.

“We’ve had a couple games this year that we weren’t at out best. We weren’t playing the way we want to,” Giroux said. “We only have 56 games this year. We need to figure it out pretty quick here.”

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