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There will be no hearing with the Department of Player Safety for Tom Wilson

By Elyse Bailey

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April 30, 2018 11:37 am

During the second period of Game Two, Tom Wilson landed a controversial hit with Alex Ovechkin on Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin. Dumoulin did not return for the third period.

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has just announced Wilson will not be subject to a hearing.

Wilson was not assessed a penalty after the hit.

The hit on Dumoulin came into question due to Wilson’s contact with his head. As Dumoulin turned to avoid Ovechkin, he collided with Wilson. Dumoulin did not return to the game after being escorted from the ice following the play. There has been no update from the Penguins regarding his status.

Coach Barry Trotz was clear that he anticipated a hearing to be announced. “The league looks at everything. We’ll let them deal with this,” Trotz told the media.

On Monday, the media was also the first to let Trotz know there will be no disciplinary hearing for Wilson.

Coach Trotz elaborated a bit more on the NHL’s decision to not give Wilson a hearing.

“Each organization, each fan base will have their opinions,” Trotz said. “That’s why there’s a neutral party in this.”

After the game, Wilson walked the media through the hit from his perspective (via The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan):

Obviously it’s a big collision,” Wilson said. “I’m at no point trying to target the head at all. I’m skating, backchecking, trying to do my job, and unfortunately there’s a collision there. I’ve watched it briefly, and I don’t realize what I can really do any different. At the last second, I see [Alex Ovechkin] coming in, and you can see me bracing, too … and I end up getting kind of taken out as well. I’ve got to analyze it a little more. Obviously you never want to see a guy go down, so hoping he’s better and we’ll see what happens.

“I think if you watch it at game speed, I don’t even alter my movement at all. I’m just skating straight. The way I look at it: There’s no way I can get his head from that point where I am. He stops and turns and I’m kind of right there as [Ovechkin is] coming in pretty aggressively. It’s a collision. I end up getting blown right out of the water, too. It’s a bit of an unfortunate play that he got hurt.”

“It wasn’t a body check to the head. I think I grazed his head as I’m skating by, as he’s getting hit by Ovi. If you watch it from multiple angles, you don’t see me lunge into his head or anything. I’m skating there. His head actually kind of hits the bottom of my arm. So, you know what? I was surprised when I kind of got up, that he was down and out like that. I mean, not out, but down on the ground and collecting himself. You never want to see a guy go down. He’s a warrior. We’ve played against him, and he’s a solid guy. Hopefully he’s all right, and we can deal with that and keep moving.”

Full Coverage of Game Two

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