On Saturday, Wayne Simmonds will be honored before the Philadelphia Flyers’ home game against the New Jersey Devils. Simmonds was never one to shy away from clutch games and almost always brought something to the table that would propel the Flyers to victory. Over his lengthy tenure in Philadelphia, Simmonds made some memorable highlights both in the regular season and in the playoffs, whether goals, checks, or making it known he would drop the gloves if need be (Eric Brewer and several other bouts comes to mind). Here then are some of the non-fisticuffs highlights during Simmonds time with the Flyers that epitomized his skill, toughness and leadership.
1) April 29, 2014 vs. New York Rangers
Down three games to two in this first-round series and needing a win, Simmonds comes up huge with two power play goals (remember scoring power play goals?) as part of a hat trick as the Flyers win 5-2. The forward puts his first of the night in in front of the crease banging home a puck past Henrik Lundqvist to break the scoreless game seven minutes in. Early in the second Simmonds is in with Brayden Schenn who flubs on a shot, the puck going to Simmonds who buries it by a sprawling Lundqvist. The third is a beautiful feed that sees Claude Giroux passing it laterally to Jacob Voracek who makes a great pass for Simmonds to put in.
“We’re not ready to go home yet,” Simmonds said post-game according to CBC. “We knew the situation. You’ve got to get pumped up for games like this.” The Flyers eventually lose game seven but only got there thanks to Simmonds’ heroics.
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