Tom Wilson left Saturday night’s game between the Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks with a lower-body injury caused by a Connor Murphy hit. The counter hit caught Wilson by surprise, sending him falling to the ice, where his right leg got caught underneath him along the boards.
The 31-year-old winger did not play for the rest of the game after being listed as questionable to return by the Capitals. Head coach Spencer Carbery shared brief, somewhat positive news on Wilson’s status postgame.
“We’ll know more tomorrow, but I don’t think it’s too bad,” Carbery said. “We’ll find out more tomorrow.”
Wilson played just 5:55 of ice time before being forced back to the locker room. He came into Saturday night’s action on a hot streak, recording eight points (5g, 3a) in his previous three games.
After the 3-2 shootout loss to Chicago, Wilson is still scoring at above a point-per-game pace, leading the Caps with 42 points (22g, 20a) in 41 games. The impact of losing a leader like Wilson, on top of already being without Aliaksei Protas due to a lower-body injury, threw the team’s forward group into disarray.
“Obviously, he’s the heart and soul of this team, really,” Dylan Strome said. “The guy battles every night. Puts his head on the line most nights to do whatever it takes for the team. Hopefully, he’s not out for long. We need him; you can’t replace a guy like that.”
With Wilson out, the Capitals needed other players to step up, and rookie winger Ryan Leonard became the primary option for Carbery. After taking Wilson’s spot in the top six, Leonard scored the game-tying goal that ultimately earned the Caps a standings point by getting the game to overtime.
“He’s the heartbeat of our team,” Leonard said. “He holds everyone accountable. He goes out there every single shift and competes. I don’t know if I can really fill that role with what he has, but everyone tried to do their best to pitch in what we were missing.”
Carbery also provided a quick update on Protas, as the Belarusian winger missed his first game of the season. “Pro missed tonight, and it’ll be TBD as we move forward,” he said.
The Capitals remain home at Capital One Arena for their next two games, Monday against the Anaheim Ducks and Wednesday against the Dallas Stars. The team is scheduled to practice on Sunday morning, so Carbery could have a more detailed update on both Wilson and Protas then.
