Tom Wilson’s face may still be swollen, but that doesn’t mean he’s afraid of dropping the gloves.
Days after taking a puck to the face against the Anaheim Ducks, causing a gash that required more than 20 stitches to close, Wilson made quick work of Zack Ostapchuk in a fight on Saturday.
A visibly angry Wilson delivered five consecutive rights to Ostapchuk’s head before wrestling him down to the ice, all while the San Jose Sharks forward struggled to throw a full-force punch. Wilson finished the bout by pushing his own helmet off as officials ushered him to the penalty box.
Wilson has already sustained plenty of facial trauma this season, spending close to a month in a bubble after breaking a bone in his sinuses in December. His face appeared relatively intact after Saturday’s fight, potentially because Ostapchuk was already on the ground before he could land a heavy hit. The two continued to exchange words while sat in the penalty box, though with less anger than before their bout.
While Wilson cooled off in the sin bin, the Capitals’ feistiness remained high as the second period went on. Brandon Duhaime dropped the gloves himself just 41 seconds after Wilson left the ice, overwhelming forward Noah Gregor with punches.
Several more scuffles emerged in the final minutes of the period. After Pierre-Luc Dubois drew a roughing call from Mario Ferraro to give the Capitals a power play, Jakob Chychrun took a run at Vincent Desharnais during a scrum with Dubois, earning two minor penalties and igniting a near line-brawl as both teams got into a shoving match.
Trevor van Riemsdyk was light on specifics when asked about the chippy period during second intermission, but he noted that tensions had been rising before they hit their breaking point.
“We just are playing a hard game and they’re competing hard too and sometimes tensions boil over and that’s going to happen,” he told Monumental Sports Network’s Al Koken. “I don’t think it was much more to it than that. They’ve got some pride over there. We’re playing well. We’re trying to be all over them and they’re trying to push back. And sometimes that’s going to happen.”
Wilson also recorded a pair of assists in the Capitals’ 5-1 win over the Sharks, notching his 18th multi-point game this season. Per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, Ostapchuk had told reporters Friday that he modeled his game on Wilson’s play, something Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said postgame that he’s heard from a number of of players. Carbery highlighted Wilson’s growing presence as a role model for young players, especially given his ability to blend chippy play with high-end talent.
“The amount of respect that that players in general, but also young players, have for Willy, I see it and hear it all the time,” Carbery said. “And the reason being is because Willy’s a physical player and plays on the edge, but he’s also so skilled and can play in every situation and can score and can finish and can make a play. So that, for for guys that are ultra competitive and physical players, he’s the model that every player — you aspire to be and want to fill that role because you’re not just quote-unquote a ‘physical player.’ You’re a physical player, but you’re also a player that’s ultra skilled and can play in every situation.”
