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Tom Wilson wins game in overtime after grotesquely bloodying knuckles in fight with Nathan Beaulieu

By Ian Oland

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March 2, 2023 10:06 am

Tom Wilson had his first signature Tom Moment of the 2022-23 season after leading the Washington Capitals to victory over the Anaheim Ducks late Wednesday.

A gritty Wilson had two-thirds of a Gordie Howe hat trick in the third period and then won the game in overtime for the Capitals after beating Trevor Zegras to the net. In the locker room, Wilson’s wounds from battle were on full display for everyone to see.

“It’s the Washington Capitals,” Wilson said. “We take a lot of pride in this organization. We want to be winners. We want to win games. Still a pretty good group in here.”

While the Anaheim Ducks are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, they handed the Capitals an embarrassing 4-2 loss last week and kept the Capitals mostly to the perimeter and off the scoreboard early on Wednesday.

Wilson changed the tenor of the game eight seconds into the third period, ambling up to the high slot as Trevor van Riemsdyk gathered in a turnover along the side boards. TVR sent a pass to Wilson who buried a one-timer past goaltender John Gibson — the NHL’s reigning third star of the week. The goal gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead.

Wilson was not done. Minutes later, he renewed his rivalry with enforcer Nathan Beaulieu at center ice, dropping the gloves at the 5:57 mark of the third with the game tied 2-2.

The spirited fight saw both players land several big punches. In the box, Beaulieu was leaking from the bridge of the nose, while Wilson, who saw several of his haymakers slam into the Ducks defenseman’s visor, left the ice for the locker room due a mangled right hand.

After getting attention inside the room, Wilson returned to the penalty box and could be seen chirping Beaulieu by NBC Sports Washington cameras. Once the fight majors were served, both players returned to their respective benches as both teams loudly slammed their sticks against the boards in salute.

Neither team could decide the game in regulation forcing overtime. There, TJ Oshie connected with his fellow Right Side bro, Wilson, for a dirty game-winner in front of the net.

Wilson’s grotesque wounds from the game were seen in the locker room after the game as the team awarded him the Yellow Rope as player of the game.

Wilson’s knuckles were badly bruised and bloodied as the first-line forward did the team’s grip test.

Wilson’s bloody knuckles (Screenshot: @Capitals/Twitter)

During an interview with NBC Sports Washington’s Al Koken during the postgame show, Wilson wiped his face, further showing off his hand.

Wilson’s hand (Screenshot NBCWSH via Washington Capitals Loyal Fans on Facebook)

For Wilson, the game-winner was his third career OTGWG. The two goals marked his 11th career multi-goal game and his first since Feb. 28, 2022 against Toronto. Since returning from a lower-body injury on February 18, Wilson has five goals in his last six games.

While the Capitals may end up without a third of its original roster ahead of the deadline on Friday, Wilson is not the type of player that will let the team give up or try to improve its draft lottery position.

“Sometimes these wins, these gritty wins, you find a way to band together and pull it out, it can be a good momentum builder,” Wilson said. “We gotta start stringing together some wins here. We’ve got to keep it going.”

Screenshots: @Capitals/Twitter

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