Perhaps getting dominated by an all-time great (Jaromir Jagr) and being without one of the game’s best forwards (Claude Giroux) had Wayne Simmonds thinking as the New Jersey Devils plundered his Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 on Saturday.
Either way, greatness was clearly on his mind, as this quote to CSNPhilly.com can attest.
“The way we played tonight, we could have had Wayne Gretzky in our lineup and I don’t know if we would have won,” Wayne Simmonds said.
/Pauses for “Probably because Gretzky’s 53 years old now,” jokes.
It’s tough to say which NHL legend might have been able to turn this one around, especially when New Jersey wasn’t just sitting on its lead:
(Chart via Natural Stat Trick)
The Flyers have lost five games in a row, but the good news is that they’ll be back in Philly for four straight home games. Even with a holiday break to soften some of the blow, that eight-game stretch is a challenge for any team, let alone an up-and-down group like the Flyers.