Philadelphia Flyers: Wayne Simmonds has big night against Detroit

Wayne Simmonds had a two-point night as the Philadelphia Flyers took two points at home in a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.

After going a whole month winning only one game, the Philadelphia Flyers seem back on track. Following Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings, they have now won seven of their last 10 games.

Forward Wayne Simmonds posted an impressive power play goal in the second period and assisted on Sean Couturier’s game-winner in the third period. Thanks to the win, they are just two points behind the New York Islanders for the second wildcard spot.

Simmonds contributions

Simmonds has certainly had his frustrating moments in the NHL. As an opposing fan, you might see him as a dirty player or a pest. Simmonds has endeared himself to fans in Los Angeles and Philadelphia by facing some unfair off-ice burdens and contributing on it.

In short, Simmonds is the kind of player you hate to see on the other bench, but would love to have on your team. If you don’t think that, you’re in denial.

On the Couturier game-winner here, we see Simmonds gamely field a pass from Flyers forward Claude Giroux as he heads through the slot. Simmonds then slides it over to Couturier for a Flyers goal.

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Credit to Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov for the outlet pass, but more credit to Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard, whose first and second saves there would fool anyone into believing Couturier came up short. Unfortunately for Detroit, Couturier buried that second rebound for the eventual game-winner.

Normally we’d throw in a highlight here of Simmonds goal, but it’s always fun to watch a rookie score their first career goal, and Simmonds factors in at the end, so bear with us.

Philadelphia defenseman Robert Hagg scored his first career goal in his 35th NHL game. It’s a pretty standard slap shot, sent in after Giroux works some magic on the right wing. With some chaos in front of the net – in part due to Simmonds – the goal trickles in.

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At the end of the highlight, you catch Simmonds backtrack toward the goal. He knows it’s Hagg’s first and snags it as a souvenir for the kid. The moment was subtle, but it’s about as heartwarming as anything you’ll see today. It came courtesy of the Flyers and Simmonds.