Accordingly, Claude Giroux, who served as captain of the Flyers for 10 of his 15 seasons here, isn’t quite sure what will go down when he makes his return Saturday afternoon with the Ottawa Senators.Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails.
One of the lingering questions, of course, is why Giroux wasn’t on the ice to take the faceoff before Nico Hischier’s power-play game winner in overtime. Giroux was 12-4 in the circle on the night. Tyler Motte, who ended up taking the draw, was 0-2 overall. Pinto did his part by scoring twice, the first multi-goal game of his National Hockey League career. “It’s a cool atmosphere and just to have my friends and family here, was definitely really cool,” he said.
Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson isn’t far behind, with seven points . Sanderson also ranks fourth in average ice time among rookies behind only Buffalo’s Owen Power and Montreal’s Kaiden Guhle and Jordan Harris.: Devils goaltender Akira Schmid was feeling the heat, entering the game after starter Vitek Vanecek left in the third period with the game tied 3-3. The Devils’ seven-game winning streak was on the line. “I actually was thinking about it,” he said after the game.