On the morning of the start of the most pivotal stretch of the Philadelphia Flyers’ season — five games in 11 days against direct playoff competition, with a road game against the powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning sprinkled in for good measure — captain Claude Giroux was asked about the last time his club faced Monday night’s opponent, the Florida Panthers, and whether the disappointing mid-November loss was heavily dissected in the morning meetings.



“You mean Florida?” he asked with a blank look on his face. “What happened last game? Did we play them this year?”



A media member confirmed that was indeed the case.



“What was the score?” Giroux queried.



A participant in the scrum called out, “5-2.”



“Exactly, we don’t remember,” he tossed back, with a knowing smirk on his face.



Of course, a fierce competitor such as Giroux remembered the November...