Is Claude Giroux the Best Player in Hockey? He did it again on Sunday, and it’s becoming a regular occurrence. Claude Giroux broke a 2-2 third period tie against the Devils with what The700Level describes as a “rocket” of a goal (watch the video here) just over four minutes in. Yes, Danny Briere was the real hero Sunday, but we digress. It was Giroux’s seventh goal of the playoffs, which is tied for most in the league (with Briere). They always say you can’t win the Stanley Cup without good goaltending, but you can win the cup when a guy playing at Giroux’s level is playing is on your team.

We asked you a few weeks ago about Giroux being the best athlete in Philly. It’s likely that his performance the past few weeks may garner him a few more votes in that poll from Philly Magazine (his opponents are the Philadelphia Union’s Freddy Adu, DeSean Jackson of the Eagles, Evan Turner of the Sixers and Hunter Pence of the Phillies).

But it’s time to think bigger than Philly. ESPN’s Barry Melrose says that Giroux is the best player in all of hockey right now. As you’ll recall, The Hockey News named Giroux the 3rd best player in the NHL back in March (behind Sidney Crosby and Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk) and in January, the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association (PSW) named Giroux their pro athlete of the year.

We want you to weigh in: has he taken his game to a whole new level? Is he the best in the league?

-LD

[The 700 Level, PhillyMag, CSNPhilly, Philly.com]

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