Two weeks before they’re set to report to the Canadian Olympic team as teammates, Tom Wilson and Connor McDavid got to know each other in a more intimate way as the Washington Capitals took on the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place, Saturday.
During a second-period scrum near the net, Wilson showed McDavid just how sandpapery he’ll be in the international tournament, cross-checking the superstar from behind twice. The crafty Oilers’ captain didn’t appreciate that much, so he skated backwards just a tad and then donkey-kicked Wilson directly in the family jewels with his left skate.
Wilson doubled over in pain as the backwards kick connected with his full taint, sending him back to the Capitals bench in considerable pain.
Not only did McDavid get the last laugh on this play, but he did on the scoreboard as well. McDavid had two goals and three assists in the Oilers’ 6-5 victory, notching his 13th career five-point game – the 12th most in NHL history. He also scored the overtime game-winning goal 47 seconds into sudden death, beating Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren on an uncontested breakaway.
McDavid’s ringing of Wilson’s chimes is the second time in the past two weeks a player in a Capitals game has absorbed a painful blow where the sun doesn’t shine.
During a game against the Nashville Predators in mid-January, Lindgren attempted to poke-check a loose puck away from future Hockey Hall of Fame forward Steven Stamkos. He missed and instead pole-vaulted the goal-scoring winger high into the air, with his stick directly in Stamkos’s groinal region.
