Wayne Simmonds scored two goals, Matt Read netted his rookie-high 16th goal of the season, and Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 26 of 27 shots as the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Nashville Predators, 4-1, snapping Nashville's five-game winning streak Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Predators Vs. Flyers: ‘Wayne Train’ Derails Music City Win Streak
Wayne Simmonds scored two goals and Ilya Bryzgalov played well, making 26 saves on 27 shots, as the Flyers topped the Predators, 4-1.
Simmonds was a force all night, playing a physical style and making a difference on the scoreboard. The 'Wayne Train' ended the evening with a career-high 10 shots on goal. He opened the scoring late in the opening period when he spun around and whipped a shot from the slot that beat a screened Anders Lindback to the far side with Zac Rinaldo blocking his sight lines just outside the Preds crease. Simmonds' 14th goal of the year gave Philly a 1-0 lead after the first period.
“I really didn’t see when he spun around and it deflected,” said Lindback after the game. “It was a good goal.”
Nashville nearly tied the contest when Craig Smith's one-timer midway through the second hit the outside of the goal post just to the right of Bryzgalov's outstretched skate and deflected into the corner and out of harm's way.
A scrum at the 12:18 mark yielded an extra minor to ex-Predator Scott Hartnell and a Nashville power play, but Philadelphia killed off the man advantage. Just 14 seconds after the penalty expired, the Flyers would double their lead.
Read deflected a pass by the point man, Kevin Klein, and caught up to the puck in the neutral zone. He then turned on the jets and pulled away from the Preds' rear guard and skated into the Nashville zone along the left wing side. He let a quick shot go when he reached the left hash marks, beating Lindback between the pads at 14:32 to stake the Flyers to a 2-0 lead at the second intermission.
Philly rookies have contributed to the offense all year long, and Read’s made it goals from freshmen in 13 of the last 15 contests, and in 10 of the last 11.
The Predators did not register a single shot on Bryzgalov in the final 10:11 of the middle frame, but they came out flying in the third period. The Flyers' netminder was called upon to make a big stop early in the final stanza, making himself big on a point blank backhander from Sergei Kostitsyn.
But Nashville would capitalize on a Flyers’ rookie mistake in getting back to within a goal.
After Harry Zolnierczyk made an ill-advised, cross-ice pass instead of getting the puck to the net, the Preds intercepted and started a rush the other direction. Ryan Suter, the pending UFA defenseman who made news over the All-Star weekend by saying he would not sign a contract extension prior to the trade deadline, beat Bryzgalov for his sixth goal of the season to make it a 2-1 game with 11:23 remaining in regulation.
With Nashville pressuring for the tying goal, Jerred Smithson was called for an interference minor with just 5:16 remaining. Simmonds would come up with another big goal just 35 seconds later on the ensuing power play for his 15th goal of the year, one more than all of last year in Los Angeles and just one short of his career-high for an entire season.
More importantly, it restored Philadelphia’s two-goal lead at 3-1 with only 4:41 left in regulation.
I think the change of scenery helped me out a little bit,” he said. “I’ve just been trying to work hard and pick up little things. I watch Hartsy (Hartnell) a lot and a lot of guys I played with in the past and I just try to learn.”
Peter Laviolette says it’s been a continuation of great things from the first-year Flyer for some time.
“His (Simmonds’) confidence seems to be growing,” said the coach. “Right now he’s a very difficult person to get the puck from. He hangs on to that puck and he’s able to make plays. I think he’s got a lot of confidence. He’s playing extremely well for us right now.”
After Lindback was pulled for an extra attacker, Simmonds had the opportunity to shoot at the open net from his own zone, but unselfishly banked the puck off the boards and out to center ice instead as to not risk an icing call and jeopardize his club’s lead.
Moments later Jaromir Jagr also went the route of humility, dishing a pass to Claude Giroux for the empty net goal to record the final 4-1 margin instead of putting it away himself. Both players had endured long goal-scoring droughts with Giroux's ending at 12-games, while Jagr's increased to the last 10 contests.
The much maligned Bryzgalov was solid the entire game and improved his record to 19-10-5, while Lindback continued with his sophomore slump and fell to 2-6-0. The Philadelphia coach has noticed the improving play of his number one goaltender.
“He looks really sharp to me,” Laviolette said after the game. “He seems focused out there.”
Both teams now have 66 points, and are each just three points off the leads in their respective conferences.
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