The smiles gave them away. Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier tried hard to tout the party line about finally being paired on a line together. Tried to couch it as an experiment, tried to act non-committal, tried really, really hard to not look past today, or tomorrow and to two weeks from now, when the center-heavy Flyers open up their 2017-18 season in San Jose.
Suffice to say they did a much better job achieving their goals on the ice than off it. On the ice, the line – with Couturier centering Giroux on the left and Jake Voracek on the right was dynamic, crowding the perch above the ice that connects to the Flyers offices with, well, higher-ups.