Flyers record-setting Claude Giroux models his captaincy after Mike Richards

Claude Giroux moved past the iconic Bobby Clarke as the longest-tenured captain in the Flyers’ history Tuesday in New Jersey, playing his 611th game in the role.

He played a key role in the Flyers’ 5-3 victory, collecting two assists and winning 56% of his faceoffs.

The durable Giroux, 33, has played in 611 of a possible 615 games since becoming the captain in January 2013, when a shortened season began.

Giroux said he got help from Clarke early in his career, and that he has tried to model his captaincy after Mike Richards.

“I learned a lot from him,” Giroux said about Richards, the Flyers’ captain from 2008 to 2011 before being traded and having Chris Pronger take the “C.” “He wasn’t a guy who spoke a lot, but his play on the ice was really good. Anytime we needed a spark, he would do that, and when he had to say something, he would. I was lucky enough to have Richie as a captain early in my career.”

Clarke became the Flyers’ captain 48 years ago. He served 498 games through the end of the 1978-79 season before becoming a player/assistant coach at the start of 1979-80. League rules stipulated he could not be a captain and an assistant coach.

Clarke returned to the captaincy on Jan. 6, 1983, and served in the role for the final 112 games of his Hall of Fame career through the end of the 1983-84 season.

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Carter Hart (4.18 goals-against average, .880 save percentage), who might get the call Thursday in New Jersey, is off to a slow start.

“There’s going to be rough patches in any career,” backup goalie Brian Elliot said before facing the Devils on Tuesday. “You have to go through the ups and downs and manage it. … Every goalie has gone through it in history. The guys know [Hart’s] heart is in the right place and he wants to do the best job possible.”

Hart slammed his stick against the net before heaving it across the ice after Saturday’s 6-1 loss in Boston.

Elliott said he has done the same thing in the past and you “almost laugh it off sometimes. Guys are joking about how many sticks he has left on the stick rack. I think that helps, just taking the pressure off and starting a new page.”

Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, recovered from COVID-19, played his first game of the season Tuesday, and was paired with Ivan Provorov. They played well together a few years ago. And Tuesday. Provorov had three points in 27:43, and he and Gostisbehere (21:57) were each plus-2. “He looked like he didn’t miss a beat. Was just making smart plays on the breakouts,” James van Riemsdyk said about Gostisbehere.