Philadelphia Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds completed what is known as the Gordie Howe hat trick on Wednesday night in an exciting 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Howe, who played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 years in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, had a rare combination of scoring ability and toughness. His style of play led to the feat of scoring a goal, recording an assist and getting into a fight all in one game being named after him.
Simmonds scored a goal, recorded an assist and picked up a fighting major when he dropped the gloves with Pittsburgh’s Tanner Glass — all in the first two periods. He also scored the go-ahead goal for Philly in the third period to make his night even more impressive.
Any NHL player can score a sweet goal or get into a vicious fight, but doing both in the same night and also adding an assist to the mix takes a lot of work. For that, we applaud Simmonds.
Stick tap to The 700 Level
