Tom Wilson’s physical presence was pivotal once again in the Washington Capitals’ 7-4 victory over the Utah Mammoth on Thursday. Wilson ended the game with a personal record of 21 penalty minutes as the Mammoth proved more focused on their war with Wilson than trying to win the hockey game.
The Capitals-Mammoth matchup first went off the rails late in the first period after a dirty hit by Brandon Tanev left Wilson heated. The Mammoth had a 3-1 lead at the time, scoring three consecutive goals after an Ivan Miroshnichekno tally 2:07 into the game.
Tanev elevated and boarded a defenseless Matt Roy hard into the glass with 1:22 remaining in the stanza. Both Wilson and Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk immediately went after Tanev to avenge the hit.
Brandon Tanev boards Matt Roy
Wilson threw several punches at Tanev, bloodying him, before officials separated the two, but that didn’t stop the pair of intense agitators. They engaged in a war of words, literally inches apart from each other’s faces, discussing the play nose-to-nose with the opposite of their indoor voices. Tanev, pointing to his shoulder, appeared to argue that he hit Roy legally, despite the fact that Roy had fully turned to the boards on the play and Tanev had charged him.
As things began to calm down some, van Riemsdyk re-entered the picture to say something to Tanev, which prompted the Mammoth forward to yell back — if my lip-reading is accurate — “f*** you!” Wilson then did a turtling motion, suggesting Tanev was afraid to fight him.
The disagreement continued even after officials ushered Wilson and Tanev into their respective penalty boxes, as the Capitals enforcer stood up and screamed across the glass at Tanev. After a several-minute delay, officials finally sorted out the calls, and the Mammoth were rewarded with a power play. Both players received 10-minute misconducts, while Tanev received a minor for boarding and Wilson got a double-minor for roughing.
Tom Wilson receives 14 PIMs in Brandon Tanev fracas at 18:38 of 1st period
Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Roughing Brandon Tanev
Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Roughing Brandon Tanev
Tom Wilson 10 minutes for MisconductBrandon Tanev 2 minutes for Boarding Matt Roy
Brandon Tanev 10 minutes for Misconduct
Both players were escorted down to the locker room early for the first intermission, but there were more fireworks. As Wilson skated off, he yelled and pointed at the Mammoth bench.
“He’ll challenge anyone on the bench and anyone in the stands booing him!” Monumental Sports Network’s Craig Laughlin said, amused.
The fracas appeared to wake up the Capitals, who had been beleaguered by three quick strikes from Utah in a game that was teetering toward a blowout loss.
Once the Capitals returned for the start of the second period, they killed off the remaining 38 seconds of Wilson’s extra minor penalty and began to dominate. Alex Ovechkin scored twice, tying the game 3-3.
Two seconds after Ovechkin’s second tally, a fiery Brandon Duhaime fought Tanev off the center ice faceoff.
Brandon Duhaime fights Brandon Tanev
Duhaime’s bout appeared to further fire up the Caps, as the entire bench (minus Martin Fehervary) emptied to congratulate him in the penalty box for sticking up for Roy.
Capitals congratulate Duhaime in penalty box
“I love that stuff. I’m a sucker for that stuff, where guys have so much appreciation and so much love for their brother that just threw down for them and did that,” Spencer Carbery said. “It was impressive to see. But that’s our group. It’s a brotherhood in there, and they love each other.”
Wilson then delivered his comeuppance, obliterating Jack McBain (whose collision with Alex Ovechkin fractured the latter’s fibula last season) with a huge hit with 1:14 remaining in the second period after the Mammoth centerman admired his pass in the defensive zone.
Tom Wilson’s big hit on Jack McBain
Wilson caught McBain looking the wrong way, hitting him in his shoulder. The Mammoth forward’s stick flew out of his hands in the violent collision.
Tom Wilson receives 2 PIMs for Jack McBain hit at 18:46 of 2nd period
Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Interference Jack McBain
Officials initially called Wilson for a five-minute major, but upon video review, they ultimately ruled it a two-minute minor for interference.
The play enraged the Mammoth, however, who argued with the officials and followed Wilson around the ice. Ultimately, Utah completely unraveled in the third period after Wilson left the penalty box.
Mammoth winger Lawson Crouse made a beeline for Wilson, dropping his gloves and challenging the Capitals winger to a fight.
Crouse was given a two-minute minor for instigating, a five-minute major for fighting, and a 10-minute misconduct. Wilson only received five minutes for fighting, giving the Capitals a power play.
Tom Wilson receives 5 PIMs in Lawson Crouse fight at 0:49 of 3rd period
Tom Wilson 5 minutes for Fighting Lawson Crouse
Lawson Crouse 2 minutes for Instigator Tom Wilson
Lawson Crouse 5 minutes for Fighting Tom Wilson
Lawson Crouse 10 minutes for Instigator – MisconductJack McBain 10 minutes for Misconduct
Anthony Beauvillier would score on the resulting man advantage, redirecting a Cole Hutson shot from the point past Vitek Vanecek to give the Capitals a 4-3 lead. The Capitals would go on to win 7-4 — Ovechkin would complete his hat trick with an empty netter — in a game the Mammoth described as the biggest of their season coming into the night.
“Disappointed the way we control our emotion,” Mammoth head coach André Tourigny said. “I’m a big believer in team toughness and showing up for your teammate and stuff like that, but there’s a way to do it. And the more important thing is that we got carried away emotionally. That’s the part. It’s part of the game, but you need to stay composed and you need to keep playing. And we got carried away from there. And that cost us.”
The game ended with a total of 82 penalty minutes between the two teams. Wilson’s individual 21 penalty minutes surpassed his previous career-high of 20, set during his rookie season against the Philadelphia Flyers. He now has 115 total PIMs in 2025-26.
