PIERRE MCGUIRE'S In the Crease

Flyers wing Claude Giroux has become a star in his third season. He has 12 goals and is the only player to have scored three times while shorthanded and on the power play. The only downside for Giroux, 22, is that the NHL left him off the All-Star ballot.... The struggling Devils miss offensive dynamo Zach Parise, currently rehabbing his surgically repaired knee. New Jersey must worry about how it will keep Parise past this season. He can become a restricted free agent this summer and has hired superagent Donald Meehan.... Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers, last year's top rookie, had a rough start this year: He was -12 in his first 13 games. But he is +2 in his last 11 since being paired with fourth-year blueliner Andrej Sekera, a fine skater and puckhandler who is not afraid to play physically.

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DAMIAN STROHMEYER (GIROUX)