By Rob Riches, Sports Talk Philly Contributor
Wayne Simmonds' pair of power-play goals –his second multi-goal game this season — proved to be too much for Nashville to handle, as the Flyers cruised to a 4-2 win Sunday over the Predators.
With the win, the Flyers have now won five games in a row, their longest winning streak since March 15-22, 2014. It also gives them four consecutive wins over the Predators, dating back to Feb. 2015.
Simmonds opened the scoring with just 1:48 to play in the first period, redirecting a shot from Jakub Voracek as Kevin Fiala sat for holding. He netted his second of the evening at 6:47 of the second period, with Mike Fisher out for boarding.
While the Flyers (14-10-3) took a 1-0 lead into the dressing room after the first period, the Predators evened the score early in the second stanza, as Calle Jarnkrok tipped in a shot from Mattias Ekholm. Colin Wilson tucked a flashy backhand by Steve Mason after Simmonds' second goal, keeping the game even.
Michael Raffl flew through the zone to beat Juuse Saros at 16:37 of the second to put the Flyers back on top, and Chris VandeVelde's empty-net goal with 26.3 seconds on the clock sealed the win for the Orange and Black.
Steve Mason turned in a steady effort in the second start of his weekend, with 30 saves. Saros turned in 24 saves in his fourth-career game. The Flyers capitalized on two of five power-play chances, while the Predators missed out on both of their attempts.
Simmonds' two goals were the fifth time in his career that he netted two power-play goals, and the 26th multi-goal game of his career. The loss gives the Predators (11-9-4) their third in their last four games.
The Flyers next take the ice Tuesday, as they welcome the Florida Panthers to Wells Fargo Center to kick off a three-game homestand.
