ARLINGTON, VA — Tom Wilson put up a heroic effort Saturday in the Capitals’ 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Midway through the first period Wilson took a full-force shot from Jakob Chychrun directly to his face, sending him immediately down the tunnel and out of the game. A shot like that would end most players’ nights, but Wilson was back before intermission.
Not only did Wilson make it back to the bench, but he became the Capitals’ most valuable player of the night. He put up two goals — including the game-winner — against Montreal to earn First Star of the Game honors, all while icing his cheek in between shifts.
Wilson’s injury comes a season after he broke his nose in a collision against the LA Kings: he returned to play that game, too. Still, the Capitals’ bench was impressed impressed by his resilience after such a frightening injury, with several of them calling his return one of the toughest feats they’ve witnessed in their careers.
“It’s awesome,” Logan Thompson said of Wilson’s efforts, later adding, “That’s got to be up there for the toughest [thing I’ve seen a guy do]… And then him coming out and putting up two goals is even more impressive. So yeah, that’s for sure the hardest thing I’ve seen.”
Head coach Spencer Carbery knew better than most how Wilson must have felt coming back into the game, having returned from a similar injury during his time as a minor-league player. But while Carbery was barely able to play the rest of that night, Wilson’s performance turned the tide of the game.
“That has got to be up there as the gold standard of playing through [something,]” he said. “Quick story: I got hit with a shot in the face, finished a game playing in the ECHL. And I sat there and maybe played two shifts. Tom Wilson plays in that game and is playing a significant role in us coming back. Power play, he’s screening the goalie. Imagine that, not only after the two goals, we get a power play. He’s got a lump on the side [of his face] and he’s standing in front of the goalie while Dylan Strome comes down Main Street and shoots a puck.
“Like, you just think about that from a standpoint of like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve already been hit by a puck and I’m going to stand here and let this guy shoot one right past me and we’re going to win the game.’ It’s just such an example of selflessness and just whatever it takes to help the team win a hockey game…I’m not sure there’s anything that I’ve seen in my coaching or playing that tops that.”
Before Wilson came back to the game, his teammates weren’t sure about the extent of his injury. Several players were worried he could have been seriously hurt, making Wilson’s return effort even more of a relief.
“You never [like seeing a guy] getting hit in the face with a puck,” said Nic Dowd. “You never know what can go wrong so it’s nice to see him come back.”
“I think it’s a little bit scary at first,” added Rasmus Sandin. “A puck coming at you that hard, no matter where it hits you, but nonetheless in the face, you never know what’s happening. Because it goes so quick and all of a sudden he’s in the dressing room and you don’t really know what’s going on, so it was good to see him back”
Chychrun’s shot, in particular, is nothing to sneeze at. Per NHL Edge, his shots this season have averaged 74.16 miles per hour — ranking in the top 10 percent of the league — with a top speed of 98.17 miles per hour.
“He has a really, really hard wrist shot,” said Dylan Strome. “It almost feels like he’s letting up some. When he shoots it, he doesn’t even follow through fully. He kind of just snaps and it’s a really hard shot. It’s a crazy shot.”
Strome’s dealt with facial injuries of his own in recent weeks, undergoing dental work after taking two high sticks to the face in a three-game span, and could understand why Wilson wanted to return against Montreal.
“He’s a tough guy, for sure,” he said. “Every time you get hit in the face you don’t know if something’s broken or something — there’s so much adrenaline during the game that you want to just get back out there. For what he did, it was fantastic. Two goals, obviously, and coming back after getting your face [hurt] like that. He’s icing it constantly on the bench, so that was another thing.”
Despite Wilson’s efforts to ice his cheek, the swelling only grew as the night went on, distorting the whole side of his face by the time he gave his postgame interview. To his teammates, that visual signifier only further showed his grit.
“I was saying to him [that] while watching the game, the first goal, his cheek was here and the second goal, his cheek was here,” Dylan McIlrath noted, miming Wilson’s ever-increasing swelling. “It was just remarkable to see. You could tell, obviously, that would be a lot of pain for anyone. Just shows what kind of leader and person he is.”
Now a full-time alternate captain, Wilson’s role in the Capitals’ locker room has only grown this season. And while there are certainly less painful ways to lead, Wilson’s return inspired his teammates nonetheless.
“For him to come back and score two huge goals and just setting an example for our team of how much we want to battle for each other and how much he’s battling for us,” said Sandin. “I think that tells us what a leader he is, too.”
