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It happened in the first 30 seconds of a pregame warmup, recalls former Preds forward Scott Hartnell, when players try to pick top corners with their first few shots.

Hartnell, then playing with the Flyers, zipped an attempt at the Philly net, only to see the puck ricochet hard off the post and smash straight into the mouth of teammate Wayne Simmonds.

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Teeth scattered and blood flowed from the face of Simmonds, who was helped from the ice as his stunned teammates watched.

But about halfway through the first period of that 2012 game, the sellout crowd at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center roared to life. There was Simmonds, fresh from getting 50 stitches in his mouth, back on the Flyers bench and sporting a face mask on his new helmet.

Not only did Simmonds play that night, he scored two goals — including the game-winner — during the Flyers’ victory over Buffalo.

“I remember thinking, ‘Wow. This guy is just an absolute warrior to do that,’” Hartnell said. “That puck must have knocked out five or six teeth. His lips were so swollen — stitches inside and outside his mouth — and then he comes out and scores a couple goals. But that’s the kind of guy he is, playing right through that kind of stuff.”

Acquired at the trade deadline by the Predators, Simmonds’ ability to withstand and administer punishment — as well as serve as a productive offensive force — are some of the more significant qualities he should add to the Nashville lineup.

Simmonds got his feet wet in the loss Tuesday to St. Louis, playing on a makeshift line with Kyle Turris and Calle Jarnkrok.

But Preds fans should get a better look at his relentless physical style on Friday night in Winnipeg, where Nashville takes on a big, bad Jets team that pushed the Predators around in the playoffs last year. Expect a dose of the usual from the 6-2, 185-pound Simmonds, who’ll root himself in front of the opponent’s net during power plays, wade into scrums along the boards and make sure his teammates don’t get picked on as well.

“He’s just going to bring that attitude he always has — he’ll do anything for you and anything for a win,” said Hartnell, a teammate of Simmonds’ for three years in Philadelphia.

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“He plays that old-school type of hockey where he goes into the corners, he goes to the net and he doesn’t take any shit from anyone. He plays hard. He’s a guy you want on your team and a guy you really don’t want to play against.”

Difference between hurt and injured

Simmonds’ ability to persevere and produce through pain have become near legendary over the years.

In 2012, for instance, Simmonds actually scored a goal with his face, when a puck deflected off the stick of an Ottawa defenseman and hit Simmonds above the right eye before crossing the goal line.

Teammates immediately waved for help as Simmonds lay on the ice, blood starting to pool around his face. But after leaving the game for a handful of minutes and getting seven stitches above his nose, Simmonds jumped right back into the action.

“I guess I’ve got a high pain tolerance,” said Simmonds, 30. “But I always say there’s a difference between being hurt and being injured. If I’m able to step on the ice and help my teammates in any way, I’m going to do that.”

Last season was one of the most challenging for Simmonds, who played 75 regular-season games — posting 24 goals and 22 assists — despite suffering from a pelvic tear, a pulled groin, a fractured ankle, a torn thumb ligament and a battered jaw.

The topic of last year’s facial injury should provide a nice icebreaker for Simmonds and new Predators teammate Mattias Ekholm, since it was Ekholm’s inadvertent high stick that connected with Simmonds’ mouth — while Simmonds was on the bench — during a 2017 game at Bridgestone Arena.

The damage was severe enough that Simmonds spent hours at the dentist the next day, enduring a couple of root canals in the process. But Simmonds never missed a game, returning to the lineup the following day wearing a plastic jaw protector attached to the base of his helmet.

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He appeared none the worse for wear, of course, scoring the winning goal in Philadelphia’s 2-1 victory over Edmonton.

Simmonds still bears a memorable badge from the incident, as multiple front teeth eventually had to be removed during the offseason because of extensive nerve damage.

“I got no teeth,” Simmonds said with a gap-toothed smile following Thursday’s practice.

“I tried to save (the front teeth), but it didn’t work so well, as you can see. I had surgery during the summertime. I got them taken out, and they put a bone graft up there. So when I’m ready, I can get permanent ones.”

Simmonds, incidentally, bears no ill will toward Ekholm, noting the high stick was purely accidental. Ekholm, meanwhile, felt regret after he learned of Simmonds’ difficulties.

“I actually don’t really remember it — maybe a little bit now that you’re mentioning it,” Ekholm said. “But we haven’t talked about it. I had no clue. You hate to say it, but stuff happens. Some stuff you can’t control, and that was one of them, unfortunately.”

Settle down, buddy

It’s not just Simmonds’ ability to endure pain, of course, that made the Predators covet him at the trade deadline, but his ability to thrive while playing that physical, rough-and-tumble game.

The clearest evidence comes via Simmonds’ power play numbers, as his career total of 94 man-advantage goals ranks tied for 18th among active NHL players. He has five this season — after hitting double figures in the five previous years — but that total still ranks tied for second on the Preds, one behind fellow newcomer Brian Boyle.

It can be back-breaking work fighting for position around the opposing crease, but Simmonds has long turned that area into his comfort zone.

“When I was kind of running the power play in Philadelphia, he was always in front of the net,” said former Preds defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who spent three seasons with Simmonds on the Flyers.

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“If I had to name somebody who was the best at that, it was him or Scott Hartnell — taking a beating in front of the net, tipping pucks and playing tough in front of the net.”

Added Hartnell: “He knows what to do, when to screen and when to go back door. That’s stuff you can’t really teach. It’s just an ability, a God-given ability.”

Simmonds also offers a menacing presence in even-strength situations, illustrated by his 113 hits, a figure that leads the Predators. It’s Simmonds’ attitude as much as his ability, according to Preds assistant coach Kevin McCarthy, that make him a successful aggressor.

“Right from the faceoff to a forecheck situation or to a battle for a loose puck, he’s one of those guys that goes to the puck angry,” McCarthy said.

“He’s one of those guys that, even though he’s not going to win every battle, he’s going to put himself in position to win every battle. That’s contagious. He gives you the physical presence you love to have on your team.”

Simmonds is no stranger to dropping the gloves, having fought 41 times in his NHL career, including once against Detroit just a couple of weeks ago. But he’s less likely to chuck knuckles these days as he is to exert his will in other ways.

Just the other night in St. Louis, for instance, Simmonds approached a scrum of shoving players, promptly grabbing a Blues player from behind and hauling him away toward the corner where he couldn’t do any damage.

That kind of attitude plays especially well in the postseason, where best-of-seven series inevitably get chippy and nasty.

“If there’s a bad hit, he’s going to go after people,” Timonen said. “He’s calming people down on your bench by doing that. In playoff time, when something bad happens, you need to have guys who can step up and say, ‘Hey. Settle down, buddy.’ He’ll be good like that.”

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McCarthy, looking back at the three years that he and Peter Laviolette coached Simmonds in Philadelphia, described the power forward’s impact even more succinctly.

“He gives everyone a little more courage when he’s out there,” McCarthy said. “He’s one of those guys that, at the end of the day, if you’re going to go into a battle, you want to have him on your side.”

(Top photo of Simmonds: Eric Hartline / USA TODAY)

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