Kyle Phillippi
They call him Wayne Train for a reason.
When Wayne Simmonds gets going, there’s no stopping the train that is the Philadelphia Flyers. As dramatic as they may sound, right now, it’s 100% accurate.
The Flyers are riding their longest winning streak of the season at four games and this revival of theirs has a lot to do with the play of No. 17. During this run, Simmonds has scored a goal in three consecutive games, giving him four goals and two assist (6 points) in the last three games.
Outside of his production, he’s playing — per usual — a very physical two-way game, which included an aggressive check he made seconds after the opening faceoff in their most recent win over the New Jersey Devils. Head coach Dave Hakstol credits Simmonds’ physicality as sort of a spark for the forward.
“He started this game right off the opening faceoff with a good solid hit,” Hakstol said following the win. “He played hard and played with pace all night long.”
That’s a pace this team needs and a pace that this team was lacking during November.
It’s also a pace the Flyers hope stays around for quite some time as they continue to claw their way back into the way-too-early playoff picture.