By ROB MAADDI
AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Wayne Simmonds is outplaying the former
captain traded away for him.



Simmonds scored two goals, Matt Read and Claude Giroux also had
goals, and the Philadelphia Flyers snapped Nashville's five-game
winning streak with a 4-1 victory over the Predators on Thursday
night.



Ilya Bryzgalov made 26 saves to earn his 175th career win, and
the Flyers finally played just 60 minutes. They went to a
shootout in their previous three contests, losing twice.



Simmonds was acquired along with Brayden Schenn and a
second-round pick in the blockbuster deal that sent Mike
Richards to Los Angeles last summer. Simmonds has 15 goals and
14 assists for 29 points. Richards has 14 and 12 for 26.



"His confidence is growing," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said.
"He's a difficult person to get the puck from. He holds onto the
puck and makes plays."



Ryan Suter had Nashville's lone goal. The Predators had won nine
of their last 10 games and entered with the NHL's best record
since Dec. 28, going 13-2.



"I thought we came out and played hard," Suter said. "The first
(goal) kind of deflected off a stick, but that stuff happens. We
just have to battle through it."



Simmonds gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead with 4:19 left in the first
period. His turnaround wrister sailed through traffic, off a
defender and past goaltender Anders Lindback.



Simmonds' power-play goal with 4:41 left in the game sealed the
win after the Predators cut the deficit to 2-1. Simmonds scored
off a rebound of a shot by Giroux, who added an empty-netter
when Jaromir Jagr passed up an easy goal.



"We got great depth," said Simmonds, who plays on the third
line. "From lines one to four, anyone can score. It's great to
have depth."



It was a much-needed home win for Philadelphia in a matchup of
two teams that came in second in their division and fourth in
their conference. The Flyers improved to 12-7-4 at the Wells
Fargo Center.



A few minutes after the Flyers failed to capitalize on a two-man
advantage, Read extended the lead to 2-0 with an unassisted goal
in the second period. Read stole the puck from Kevin Klein near
Philadelphia's blue line and started a breakaway. He faked a
pass to Harry Zolnierczyk and fired a slap shot from the left
faceoff circle that went through Lindback's legs.



Read, an undrafted free agent, leads NHL rookies with 16 goals.
The 25-year-old forward is strengthening his bid to win the
Calder Trophy with every goal.



"We kill a five-on-three and usually the team that makes the
kill gets the momentum, but we gave it right back to them when
they scored," Predators coach Barry Trotz said.



Nashville's Craig Smith nearly tied it at 1 in the second period
when his one-timer hit the post. Seconds later, Bryzgalov made
the save on Smith's point-blank shot from inside the right
faceoff circle.



Smith finally got the Predators a tally when he set up Suter's
goal with 11:23 remaining. Smith sent a crossing pass between
Flyers defenseman Andrej Meszaros' legs to Suter, who scored his
first goal in 27 games to get Nashville within 2-1.



Lindback started instead of Pekka Rinne, who has won 10 straight
starts and 13 of 14.



Bryzgalov has started six of Philadelphia's last eight games.
The eccentric goalie hasn't lived up to expectations in his
first year with Philadelphia after signing a $51 million,
nine-year contract. He entered the game with a 2.92
goals-against average and a mediocre .896 save percentage.



"He looks really sharp," Laviolette said. "He's focused. He's
worked really hard in practice and often that reflects in
games."



Notes: The Flyers acquired minor-league RW Matt Ford from
Washington for D Kevin Marshall. Ford was assigned to the AHL's
Adirondack Phantoms. ... Simmonds has goals in both games vs.
Nashville. ... The Predators are 6-7-3 vs. Philadelphia. ... The
Flyers and Predators have more trades (17) with each other than
games played (16). Nashville entered the NHL in 1999. ... Smith
and Patric Hornqvist have points in five straight games. ...
Suter's last goal was on Nov. 23. ... Giroux hadn't scored in 12
games since Jan. 2.