The good news is that Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said Giroux "felt better" yesterday morning and will be re-examined today. The truth is that it is really too soon to tell if Giroux is in the clear.
History aside, take the Flyers' most recent brush with concussions as proof. Sometimes, the symptoms take time to rear their ugly head. On Friday, the Flyers officially labeled Chris Pronger as "out indefinitely" after suffering from concussion-like symptoms. He was high-sticked in the eye on Oct. 24 but returned to the ice on Nov. 9 after being cleared to play.
Pronger played just four games, but it wasn't his wonky knee - which ultimately needed surgery on Nov. 29 - that kept him off the ice.
Pronger explained the symptoms as something he "never felt before," with persistent headaches, nausea and general sluggishness. On Wednesday in Pittsburgh, he will meet with renowned concussion experts Dr. Mickey Collins and Dr. Joe Maroon, the same specialists who have kept tabs on Sidney Crosby. It's not known whether the high-stick, or the resulting damage to his right eye, have any connection to Pronger's symptoms.
Brayden Schenn was knocked around by Raffi Torres on Dec. 3 in Phoenix, but it took until Dec. 5 for him to report his symptoms to the team's training staff. Schenn continued to play in the game in Phoenix, felt fine on the flight home to Philadelphia after the game, followed it with a day off Monday and even got through half a practice Tuesday before being unable to continue.
The Flyers believe Schenn's concussion is more "mild" at this point, so he will not be accompanying Pronger to Pittsburgh.
But what do Pronger and Schenn have in common? Neither player felt the symptoms immediately after the contact - in one case it took weeks, in the other it was days - and both of them passed their baseline IMPACT tests.
