Tom Wilson is officially back with the Washington Capitals.
The 31-year-old winger missed the team’s morning skate and their game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday due to an illness, but was back at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Thursday. Wilson met with DC media for the first time since playing for Team Canada at the Olympics and declared himself ready for action against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night.
“It was tough travel back,” Wilson said. “I had a bit of a bug, but feeling a lot better now, so good to go.”
Despite missing 10 games this season, Wilson is still the Capitals’ leading scorer with 49 points (23g, 26a) in 50 games. With his return and Connor McMichael being activated off injured reserve on Wednesday, the Capitals are back to having their full complement of forwards for the first time since the early fall.
Wilson will likely retake his spot in the team’s top-six forward group on a line with McMichael and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Rookie winger Ryan Leonard filled in on the right wing of that trio against the Flyers.
While Wilson is definitely ready to return for the Capitals, the other big member of the team’s roster who missed Wednesday’s game, defenseman John Carlson, seems to still need more time to recover from his lower-body injury. Thursday’s practice was optional, and Carlson was not on the ice.
“John continues to be day-to-day,” head coach Spencer Carbery said. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow.”
After playing Vegas, the Capitals will immediately fly north of the border to take on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. The team will then have a slower week to begin March, playing just twice in the first eight days of the month.
