15 reasons this NHL season took place in the Upside Down

2. Claude Giroux’s dominance

The thing is, Claude Giroux is fantastically talented player. But the reality is that some people were wondering before the season if he was done. After all, his stats had been dropping steadily since a stellar 93-pointer in 2011-12, which is a long time ago in NHL years. And with him creeping up on 30, the age he turned in January, the pundits were speculating the worst for the Philadelphia Flyers forward.

Then the craziest thing happened on the way to the relic pile: Giroux had his best season ever, scoring 34 goals and adding a league-leading 68 assists for 102 points, making his own case for the Hart by earning the Flyers a surprising playoff berth (against the cross-state-rival Pittsburgh Penguins, no less). There’s little doubt a healthy Giroux (he played all 82 games this season) is responsible for the Flyers’ fortunes; however Giroux goes, so go the Flyers. Helping push Giroux to new heights was center Sean Couturier, who finally busted loose with a stats bonanza of his own after years of being the next big thing. Giroux being second in the league in points is some serious trickery, right there.