Tom Wilson took to the ice at Capital One Arena on Saturday afternoon without a full bubble shield on his helmet for the first time in nearly a month.
Wilson had been wearing the extra facial protection since taking a Jakob Chychrun shot to the face against the Montreal Canadiens on December 7. The 30-year-old winger first donned the shield at a December 11 practice after finding out that the puck had broken one of his sinus bones.
Tom Wilson is back practicing in a bubble this morning. pic.twitter.com/wF0CjE4Glt
— Katie Adler (@katieEadler) December 11, 2024
“It was a small break. Not in my orbital but in one of the sinus bones,” Wilson said then. “It’s nothing major but something you just want to make sure you don’t get hit again in the same spot.
“It could always be worse; it could always be better. It’s a tough sport. It’s a pretty savage sport. I feel lucky it wasn’t worse.”
After that first practice, Wilson revealed that the team’s doctors wanted him to wear the bubble for four weeks. Saturday’s game against the New York Rangers marks three weeks and three days since those comments.
He also warmed up before the game without a helmet on.
Wilson had six points (4g, 2a) in the 11 games he wore the shield.
