Giordano scored the opening goal in a 5-1 win against the Washington Capitals in his first game back in a month.
Giordano scored the opening goal in a 5-1 win against the Washington Capitals in his first game back in a month.
Mark Giordano has had a difficult last six weeks of recovery from an injury and dealing with personal matters. But everything felt normal for the 40-year-old Toronto Maple Leafs veteran when he was pressed into duty at the last minute and made the most of it, scoring the game's opening goal in a 5-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
"It meant a lot. I think you get back in, you try to contribute in any way," Giordano said. "It doesn't matter who you are. When you get one early, it goes right to your legs."
On Feb. 16, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that Giordano's father, Paul, suddenly passed away. After departing the club for over 10 days to grieve the loss, he returned to the lineup. But in his second game back, he sustained a head injury after falling hard into the boards against the Arizona Coyotes on Feb. 29.
Giordano seemingly recovered from his concussion fairly quickly, returning to practice with the club on March 11 but he was on the outside looking in. Some of that was due to where he found himself on the club's depth chart. Some of that was for cap-related reasons as the player's $800,000 hit was parked in a long-term injury exception.
He was very much, in one.
In fact, Giordano wasn't slated to play on Thursday until it was learned before the game that defenseman Timothy Liljegren wasn't going to suit up due to a lower-body injury. With Morgan Rielly (upper-body injury) and Joel Edmundson (undisclosed) also out, Giordano is effectively Toronto's ninth option on defense.
When Giordano broke through and beat Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren, Giordano pointed to the sky and looked up to his dad.
"Just something I promised I would do, after my dad passed away there, if I scored," Giordano explained. "So, the way it was going, it looked like it might not happen. But it was nice to get that one."
Through it all, Giordano maintained his professionalism about the situation at hand. He has remained a good teammate and never complained about the odd roster situation he found himself in.
Although Tyler Bertuzzi had a two-goal night and Connor Dewar scored his first goal as a Leaf, it was Giordano who received the 'player-of-the-game' belt from his teammates after Thursday's game.
"It’s pretty special, I was smiling in the net when he scored," Joseph Woll said of Giordano. "Whether or not he’s in the lineup he’s a huge part of this team."
With Rielly still day-to-day and Edmundson ruled out for Saturday, Giordano may stay in the lineup when the club visits the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. However things shake out, Giordano's been the model of how to deal with being scratched.
"It's crazy because one week you can get down and you can feel like, 'Oh, maybe I'm not going to get that opportunity anytime soon.' And then it changes like real quick," Giordano said. "So, try to stay ready, try to stay focused. And then when you do get in, it's important to really make it count because you want to show your teammates, but most importantly, the coaching staff and everyone that you're ready and go from there."
Related
Maple Leafs Defenseman Timothy Liljegren is 'Going To Miss Some Time' With an Upper-Body Injury
News from THN.com
Capitals' Ethan Bear to Receive Care from NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program
Archive: Former Toronto Forward David Clarkson Earned Reputation As Sandpaper NHL Force
NHL Sour Rankings: How Celebrini Could Fit In Among the NHL Draft Lottery Hopefuls