ST. LOUIS – As he did as a player, Flyers coach Craig Berube came to the aid of the team’s captain Thursday at Scottrade Center.
With the Flyers nine points and three spots shy of the final Eastern Conference playoff berth, the leadership of captain Claude Giroux has been questioned in some quarters. Not in the coach’s office, though.
“I think ‘G’ and the leaders have done a good job,” Berube said. “They prepare themselves night in and night out to compete hard and work hard, and they perform at game time.”
Still, they’re relatively new on the job and thus a work in progress.
“It’s a learning process with these guys,” Berube said. “’G’ is still a young captain, and Wayne Simmonds (26) is an A. Mark Streit (37) has been a captain before. They’re all learning on the job.”
Entering the game against St. Louis, Giroux, 27, is second on the team with 43 assists and 61 points. He’s third with 18 goals. He’s in his third season as captain.
As far the criticism, “I take it to heart,” he said. “This team is one of the most important things in my life; it means a lot to me how this team goes. I care a lot for these players. To be the position we are now, it’s something we want to change. We’re learning the hard way.”
NHL
The Flyers have won just once in five games this month — over St. Louis in Philadelphia on March 5. They’ve lost two games in regulation play and two others in overtime. The victory over the Blues was their sixth in a row vs. playoff-bound teams. Including two OT losses, they are winless in six straight against nonplayoff teams.
The disparity rankles Giroux.
“We’ve had times where we played as a team and our chemistry was good, (but) at some point, our chemistry on the ice wasn’t good,” he said. “It looks like when we have big games, we find ways to play at our best, and (against other teams) we’re not ready or our motivation is not as good.
“It’s something we have to look at. Good teams find ways to be consistent every night; 82 is a lot of games. It’s hard, but the best teams do that.”
As far as the captain being vocal behind the scenes, he’s just as he is publicly.
“I’m pretty much the same guy — easy going,” he said. “I come to the rink every day happy to be around this team. I feel like in the morning I’m pretty excited to come to the rink.”
Hitchcock connection
Blues coach Ken Hitchcock needs a victory Thursday night to each 700 for his career, entering the game with 699.
Berube played for Hitchcock in juniors and also with the Flyers in Hitchcoch’s tenure as an assistant, then coached with him in Philadelphia.
“Hitch was a very offensive coach in juniors, but when he got to the NHL, he became more of a defensive-minded coach,” Berube said. “He went to Dallas and … won a (Stanley) Cup.”
Berube called Hitchcock a “tough coach” who stresses doing the “little things on the ice” to win.
“Look at their team this year — they’re a very good team and they score, too,” said Berube, who talks hockey with Hitchcock at times in the offseason. “He’s been around and knows a lot about the game. Very smart guy.”
Colaiacovo returns
Flyers defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo played in St. Louis for the first time after being with the team last season and signing with Philadelphia as a free agent in the offseason.
A first-round draft pick by Toronto in 2001, he came to St. Louis with Alexander Steen for Lee Stempniak on Nov. 24, 2008, and played five of the past six seasons in St. Louis.
Still, he termed the return visit as “just another part of the tour,” he said. “It’s always a great place to come back to. I had some of my career years playing here.”