Tom Wilson took a puck to the face at the end of the Washington Capitals’ 7-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night. The deflected pass ramped up into his mouth, sending the winger off the ice bleeding and forcing him to miss the final 4:24 of regulation.
“He’s got a huge gash on his upper lip,” head coach Spencer Carbery said postgame. “He’ll need repairs.”
Thursday, Wilson revealed to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti that he needed more than 20 stitches to close the gash, but will be available to play later in the night against the Los Angeles Kings. Unlike his last run-in with a puck to the face,Wilson did not break any bones so he will not be forced to don a full face shield for a second time this year.
The 30-year-old winger was previously struck by a Jakob Chychrun point shot against the Montreal Canadiens on December 7. While Wilson returned in that game to score two goals, the puck broke one of the bones in his sinus cavity, forcing him to wear the bubble visor for nearly a whole month.
Wilson has taken some extensive facial damage two years in a row. Last season, he took an errant stick and a punch to the face against the Kings, needing his broken nose reset by a doctor.
The Capitals’ alternate captain is having a career-best season, recording 54 points (29g, 25a) through 64 games. He chipped in two assists in 15:21 of ice time against the Ducks.
Wilson will be a captain one day
Wilson's seven points last week ranked tied for fourth in the NHL, while his two shorthanded points were tied with teammate Aliaksei Protas and the New York Rangers' Mika Zibanejad for the most among all skaters. Wilson scored his 11th career shorthanded goal on March 7 against the Detroit Red Wings and passed Brooks Laich (10) for the seventh most shorthanded goals in franchise history.
Two nights prior on March 5 at the New York Rangers, Wilson scored his fifth career overtime goal to give the Capitals a 4-2 win. Wilson also finished with a Gordie Howe Hat Trick on March 3 against Ottawa with a goal and an assist along with five penalty minutes.
Wilson has 29 goals and 25 assists for 64 points along with a plus/minus of plus 20 with four game winning goals. The 29 goals are a career high and the second most on the Capitals behind only Alex Ovechkin who's got 33. 11 of Wilson's 29 goals have come on the power play, which leads Washington and is tied for eighth in the NHL. In additon, Wilson leads the Caps and is tied for 15th in the NHL in hits with 186.
Wilson is one of two players in the NHL with 25 plus goals and 150 plus hits. The other is Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators.
Capitals coach Spencer Carbery described Wilson's play pretty good to Mike Vogel of WashCaps.com:
"He is such a fiery competitor, and he wants it so bad, that you can feel it as a coach. And it's my job to help him or get him in situations where he can be effective and can change the momentum in the hockey game. And because he wants to do it so badly, he can sense when the group is really struggling and we need a spark - but some quality shifts - and that's where he feels like he could be the guy to do that and provide that."Spencer Carbery
This was a big recognition by the NHL for Tom Wilson. He has matured and become an incredible offensive weapon. He is beloved around here in the DMV and now the League has started to take notice. Some have feared the Caps more and it's because of the play of Wilson.
