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Tom Wilson, a forward for the Washington Capitals set off a huge brawl during the second period of Monday night’s game. The Capitals played against the New York Rangers at Madison Garden on May 3, 2021. Ultimately, Wilson’s team beat the Rangers — 6 to 3.
The brawl happened just after Vitek Vanecek, goalie for the Capitals, made a save against the Rangers. A number of players began to tussle just inside the crease as Wilson started punching Pavel Buchnevich in the head.
The Capitals forward then proceeded to body-slam Artemiy Panarin. The donnybrook continued on for a few more moments before officials were able to reign in the fight.
As punishment, Wilson received a 10-minute misconduct penalty and four minutes for roughing. After the Capitals forward made his way to the penalty box he began to flex. His display thoroughly displeased a lot of players and fans.
Mika Zibanejad, center for the Rangers, had this to say about Wilson’s behavior, “you should have some more respect for the game and for the players.” Adding further the situation was “horrible.”
Zero respect. I don’t know why I’m surprised, but yeah, just horrible.
Late in the third period, Wilson scored an empty-net goal for the Capitals. The Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention due to the Boston Bruins winning over the New Jersey Devils.
Coach for the Rangers, David Quinn, was also unimpressed by Wilson’s unsportman-like behavior. “We all saw it, and there are lines that can’t be crossed in this game.”
Quinn stated that Wilson’s actions showed “zero respect for the game.” Adding that someone could have been “seriously hurt in that incident.” Of course, these types of things happen from time to time during hockey games.
The Capitals forward has had an extensive history of being suspended. In March, he was given a seven-game suspension for hitting Boston Bruins’ Brandon Carlo. The Bruins player had to spend the night in the hospital after he was smashed into the boards.
During the 2018-19 preseason, Wilson earned himself a 20-game suspension. This was eventually reduced to 14 games by an independent arbitrator. He earned a lengthy suspension for hitting Oskar Sundqvist — illegally in the head.
Many hockey fans posted their discontent over Wilson’s actions on social media. Jillian Murphy tweeted:
Try not to wade into NHL issues because they can get messy but the league needs to punish Tom Wilson and punish him severely. What happened tonight in the Capitals vs Rangers game was not okay.”
She further added, “He has gotten away with acts like these for way too long and it was borderline assault.”
Written by Sheena Robertson
Source:
Yahoo!: Tom Wilson sets off brawl in Capitals’ game against Rangers, who rip actions: ‘Zero respect for the game’; by Jim Reineking
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of j_rho’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of Amanda Lockwood’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License