The Washington Capitals will get Tom Wilson back in their lineup on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Wilson has sat out of the team’s last six games due to an NHL-levied suspension for high-sticking. The Capitals have lost three straight without him and are now in a tight battle for the last playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The race now once-again involves a seemingly rejuvenated Penguins team.
“I feel like with the Penguins, it’s always a rivalry game,” Wilson said Wednesday. “For the last decade or so, you just know it’s going to be a big game. No matter what time of year and no matter what the standings are, it’s two teams that are always competing to be good, and always competing against each other for spots. It’s no different right now.”
Thursday night’s matchup will perhaps be the most important between the two teams since they faced off against one another during the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. According to the leading sources on playof odds, there is up to a 15 percent swing on the line as the Capitals failed to separate themselves from the rest of the pack over the last week.
The Capitals currently sit in the second wild card spot in the East with 82 standings points after 74 games played. The Penguins have amassed 79 standings points after 75 games played and sit behind the Capitals, New York Islanders (81 points), and Detroit Red Wings (82 points) for that final playoff position.
Head coach Spencer Carbery is hoping that getting Wilson back in the lineup will help settle the team and better align their depth chart for this final stretch run. The Capitals were without Wilson and TJ Oshie on the right wing in their 6-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. Oshie, who met with the team doctor Thursday morning, will not play in either game of the back-to-back against the Penguins or Hurricanes.
“It’s huge to add [Tom] back to the lineup,” Carbery said. “From a bunch of different departments – leadership, locker room presence, bench demeanor, and then also the things he brings from a strategic standpoint. He plays in every situation – penalty kill, power play, five-on-five. Gives us some help on that right side playing the wing. Very welcome addition to the group.”
Wilson was on a hot streak before the NHL sidelined him. He had points in three straight games and eight points (4g, 4a) overall in nine March games.
The big winger commented on his suspension after practice on Wednesday but ended his media availability more focused on the team’s final eight games.
“I just chose to focus on this run,” Wilson said. “I wanted to make sure that my head was in this playoff race with this team and put [the suspension] behind us.
“It’s felt like a long time, so ready to go. It’s crunch time and a couple weeks left here, so I’m excited to get back in there and help whatever way I can.”
Wilson has a goal in each of the last two times the Capitals and Penguins have matched up this season. During his entire career, there is not a team that he has scored on more times than Pittsburgh with 12 goals in 41 games.
