As the spiritual successor to the site dedicated to Scott Gomez's futility streak, we present: didgirouxscoreyet.com (via r/hockey).

The answer, as of Tuesday afternoon, remains … not yes.

As for the Flyers, they started Tuesday with the worst record in the Metropolitan Division, Eastern Conference and NHL at 1-7-0. Giroux, Philadelphia's captain, still believes in his team.

“When you have the record we have right now, you’re a little frustrated and you try to figure out what’s going on, but everybody came to the rink and we know there’s a lot of hockey left to play here," he said. "We’re not far at all. How many points are we off, six? To think that with the start we had, we’re that close. We’ve never thought that we’re not going to make the playoffs.

“We’ll take it here game-by-game, and we will make the playoffs.”

Hope is a good thing — maybe the best of things. That said, as Elliotte Friedman outlined last week and Sean Leahy pointed out at Puck Daddy on Tuesday , the Flyers need to get moving. In the seven seasons after the 2004-05 lockout, three out of 32 teams that were four points out of a playoff spot on Nov. 1 managed to finish in their conference's top eight by the end of the regular season. Philadelphia is currently six points behind the Islanders, who'd make the postseason as third-place team in the Metro Division.

A major plus for the Flyers, though, is that the Metro has been terrible thus far; a two-point team would be eight points out of position in the Atlantic, nine points out in the Central and 10 points out in the Pacific. If goalie Steve Mason can maintain some semblance of his fast start and the offensive production improves from "historically bad," maybe they'll have a shot.


PENS' MAATTA A KEEPER


Yes, Olli Maatta played in his ninth game on Monday night against the Avalanche. No, he wasn't focused on the Penguins' pending decision about his future.

Maatta, 19, has made a serious bid for Pittsburgh to keep him around for Game No. 10, which would mean the start of his entry-level deal. The Penguins' plan is to do just that, according to multiple organizational sources cited by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, though coach Dan Bylsma said the report was "not accurate to my knowledge."

The bigger number for Maatta is Game No. 40, after which he'd credit toward arbitration or free agency. And no matter what, the point will be moot if he's one of Pittsburgh's best six defensemen, which he has been to this point. When Kris Letang returns, the team will have eight healthy blue liners, and the ultimate choice may be whether to play Maatta or frequent partner Robert Bortuzzo, who has also been good.

Letang, Rob Scuderi, Brooks Orpik and Paul Martin make up Pittsburgh's top two pairings when healthy. The bottom pair and extra spot would be filled out by some combo of Maatta, Bortuzzo, Matt Niskanen (whose name is currently a trade-rumor staple) and Deryk Engelland, who's the weakest of the four and currently splitting time at right wing.

Maybe Engelland splits time full-time. Maybe he's waived. Maybe Niskanen (and his $2.3 million cap hit) gets traded after all. But if the Penguins think Maatta is ready to help them win games, they should make it work and let the chips fall from there. The most careful route, from an asset management perspective, may not be the best.

Letang, according to the Tribune-Review, has endorsed Maatta behind closed doors. Orpik was more open on Monday: "For a kid his age, I've never seen a kid work as hard as him off the ice."

Maatta appreciates it: "That's big. It means a lot — I think that brings my confidence up, too. Other guys think I'm playing pretty well."

The basic case for keeping Maatta, projected as a two-way, top-four guy, is twofold: 1) Playing in the NHL will benefit him more than another year in the OHL. 2) He's ready to contribute more than other options for a win-now team. His statistics generally are in his favor; for example, Pittsburgh takes 51.9 percent of all even-strength shot attempts when he's on the ice — third-best among its defensemen. 


ERICSSON HONORS FRIEND


Jonathan Ericsson will have some extra time to spend with his new daughter.

The Red Wings' defenseman will miss 2-3 weeks with a shoulder injury; his fiancée Evelina gave birth to baby Liv on Monday morning. She's named after Stefan Liv, who was Ericsson's teammate in the Red Wings' organization and with the Swedish national program. Liv was killed in the 2011 plane crash that also claimed the rest of KHL Lokomotiv.

"We liked the name, but also it has a little history with our very good friend Stefan Liv, so it's kind of in honor of him, too," Ericsson told reporters on Tuesday. "He was a good friend and a guy I really respected a lot. We really liked the name and then with the meaning, too, it felt even better."

Ericsson, 29, was injured on Saturday night against the Coyotes. He has a goal and two assists in nine games, and the Wings were taking 54.2 percent of all shot attempts while he was on the ice at even strength in close games — second best among defensemen with at least six games played. Ericsson had also been playing against relatively tough competition.

Detroit is 6-3-1 and on top of the Atlantic Division.


OILERS' HALL OUT 4 WEEKS


Oilers forward Taylor Hall is expected to miss four weeks after injuring his left knee in a game on Saturday.

General manager Craig MacTavish confirmed the injury timeline Tuesday morning through a post on the team's Twitter feed.

Hall, the first overall pick in the 2010 draft, has three goals and five assists in nine games this season. He was hurt on an innocent-looking play in Edmonton's 3-1 win at Ottawa.

MacTavish also said that forward Ryan Smyth is expected to be out for a week with a groin injury. The Oilers have recalled forwards Ben Eager and Tyler Pitlick from the minors.


FIVE GAMES FOR MCLEOD 


Cody McLeod of the Avalanche was suspended five games for boarding and injuring Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall, the NHL announced.

Kronwall was concussed on the play but said afterward that he put himself in a vulnerable position. The league agreed but ruled that McLeod still had time to minimize contact and instead went out of his way to hit Kronwall. 

"Although Kronwall cuts back, McLeod actually makes an adjustment to his own path and is responsible for the violent collision that results," Brendan Shanahan, the NHL's director of player safety, said, adding that there was no sign that McLeod tried to slow down as he approached Kronwall's numbers. He'll forfeit $29,487.20.

Interestingly, the league seems to believe that the McLeod's hit, in itself, is worse than Maxim Lapierre's on Dan Boyle. The Blues' center also got five games, but unlike McLeod, he had a track record, which was a factor in the length of the suspension.


GRABNER BANNED 2 GAMES


 Islanders forward Michael Grabner was suspended for two games by the NHL for an illegal check to the head of Hurricanes forward Nathan Gerbe.

The incident occurred in the first period of Carolina's 4-3 win over the Islanders on Saturday. No penalty was called on the play.

Grabner missed Tuesday's home game against the Canucks and will sit out Friday's road game against the Penguins.

The suspension will cost Grabner $30,769, with the money going to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Contributors: Sean Gentille, The Associated Press