NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The menacing scars and the missing teeth remain the same — the only thing that's changed about Wayne Simmonds is his unfamiliar blue and gold surroundings.
For the first time since the Feb. 23 Stadium Series game at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field, the Penguins will get their rematch against Simmonds. Of course, it was Simmonds who concussed Brian Dumoulin after delivering a big hit against the unforgiving boards and glass in the first period at the Linc. And it was Kris Letang who suffered an upper-body injury while trying to get a piece of Simmonds.
Well, much has changed since then.
Namely, Simmonds is no longer with the Flyers. After seven-plus seasons and 784 penalty minutes, he was dealt to the Predators at the trade deadline in exchange for Ryan Hartman and a conditional fourth-round pick in next year's draft. But after a slow start with his new team, Simmonds is starting to show signs of coming around. He scored his first goal in Tuesday night's win over the Maple Leafs and had his first fight the game before that against the Sharks' Micheal Haley.
"Getting some more practices in here, think I've played three home games now, so starting to get more comfortable," he said after Thursday's morning skate.
The Predators enter tonight's game on a three-game winning streak, while the Penguins are on a three-game losing skid. With that in mind, Simmonds doesn't expect any sort of carryover from his last meeting with the Penguins. But if something does happen ...
"Doesn't matter to me," Simmonds was telling me. "If it happens, it happens. I can't control anything."
The good news for the Penguins is that both Dumoulin and Letang are back in their lineup. Dumoulin missed just three games while Letang missed 11. Tonight's game will be Letang's second game back in the lineup. Neither defenseman made themselves available to the media after the Penguins' morning skate.
Simmonds, who was neither penalized on the play nor later fined or suspended for his hit on Dumoulin, defended his actions when I'd asked about it:
"Clean hit," he said. "I just hit him. He went into the boards. I put his shoulder into his chest. I think he was hunched over a little bit. It was a good hockey play as far as I can tell."
Upon his return to the lineup, Dumoulin concurred that the hit was to the shoulder and that it was the glass that caused his concussion, his second since last April. But he also felt that he was in a vulnerable position and could not defend himself properly.
Of course, the Penguins didn't have Erik Gudbranson in the lineup the last time the Penguins faced Simmonds. He was acquired at the deadline from the Canucks in part to deter opponents from taking liberties. After Evgeni Malkin suffered an apparent rib injury after taking a crosscheck from the Blues' Robert Bortuzzo last weekend, there's obviously heightened awareness of sticking up for each other.
Simmonds can certainly respect that, he's made a living out of it, but doesn't expect that will be a cause for concern tonight.
"I don't think, obviously, the rivalry between Nashville and Pitt is to the level of Flyers and Pitt were," Simmonds said. "Two good teams, two really good teams going out there. Both teams need the points tonight. I envision it'll be a good game."
BRADFORD'S VIEW
If Simmonds were still on the Flyers, there might be some carryover. But not tonight.
Though the Penguins and Predators met in the Stanley Cup Final two years ago, there's no rivalry to speak of. Besides, the Penguins have far greater concerns -- like getting goals from someone other than Sidney Crosby or Jake Guentzel -- than settling old scores. Maybe next year.
• The Penguins held a full morning skate at Bridgestone Arena and used the following lines and pairs:
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
McCann-Blueger-Kessel
Simon-Bjugstad-Hornqvist
A. Johnson-Cullen-Wilson
Dumoulin-Letang
J. Johnson-Schultz
Pettersson-Gudbranson
• You'll note that Bryan Rust remains on the top line, that's where he finished Tuesday night's game. You'll also note the addition of Adam Johnson to the fourth line. The slender 6-foot, 174-pound forward will wear No. 47. Mike Sullivan said Johnson can help in a number of areas.
"He can help our overall team speed," the coach said. "He's really good on the forecheck. He'll bring a lot of energy in his first NHL game. I know he's excited to play.
"He had good offensive instincts. We think he can help us in a lot of ways. He's a good penalty killer. So there's a number of different ways we can utilize him but one of his biggest strengths is is his speed."
• Olli Maatta wore a full-contact jersey and worked with Zach Trotman on a spare defense pairing. Read about that here.
• As expected, Matt Murray will start tonight opposite Pekka Rinne.
