Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden said pregame that there might “be some other roster moves going on before the game tonight,” adding “a bunch of [players are] game time (decisions). So whoever ends up on our bench then I will use them.”
He wasn’t kidding. Tom Wilson will be a late scratch while Michal Kempny (sick) did not travel with the team to Raleigh.
By Ian Oland 5 months ago
Tom Wilson is a human locomotive and late in the second period, the Tom Train slammed into 26-year-old Jakob Lilja. The hit sent the Swedish forward careening into the end boards and temporarily out of the game.
It was the second gigantic hit Tom has thrown against the Blue Jackets.
By Ian Oland 5 months ago
The Boston Bruins put up a four-spot on the Washington Capitals in the first period, chasing Braden Holtby. With the result never in doubt during the game’s final 40 minutes, the two teams turned to hitting, wrestling, and score-settling to keep things interesting.
Late in the third period, Tom Wilson and David Pastrnak, the NHL’s leading goalscorer, exchanged hits and punches at the Capitals bench. It started a mini line brawl.
By the end of it, players on both the Capitals and Bruins were angrily hugging and yelling at each other. Wilson and Pastrnak took their disagreement to the penalty box and continued their discussion until the Capitals forward was tossed from the game after receiving a 10-minute misconduct.
The Washington Capitals released their annual holiday video on Monday morning and it has so many levels I feel like I’m playing Super Mario Brothers 3.
Tom Wilson’s mustache and Captain’s chonkiness suggest the movie was filmed in mid to late November. Judging by the navy-painted bricks, the setting is the alternate locker room at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. Then there’s the ugly Christmas sweaters, which, you guys, are a delight.
Each player (except for Garnet Hathaway and Nic Dowd who rocked matching holiday onesies) wore a different one. Jakub Vrana reached Peak V when he rocked a Santa Keg Stand ugly sweater.
Using the clutch help of Google and the eagle eyes of RMNB illustrator/designer/writer Rachel Cohen, here is every ugly sweater the Capitals wore in the holiday video.
By Rachel Cohen 5 months ago
Merry Capsmas everyone! With Christmas two days away, the Washington Capitals have released their annual holiday video.
And it’s… definitely a thing you need to watch.
By Ian Oland 5 months ago
In my-favorite-team-is-more-fun-than-your-favorite-team news, TJ Oshie broke his stick during his butt-slash routine with Tom Wilson before the Caps-Columbus game.
As Oshie wound up and swung, his hockey stick cracked over Wilson’s, uh, iron-like derrière.
Sportsnet’s Kristina Rutherford published one of her “big read” articles on Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson on Sunday. The article gives context behind Wilson’s growth as a player over the last few years and could serve as an image rehabilitation for the first-line forward in markets outside of DC.
Wilson became a pariah to many general NHL fans after being suspended four different times in a little over a year between 2017 and 2018. After being banned 20 games for an illegal hit to the head of Oskar Sundqvist (Wilson served 16 games; it was eventually reduced to 14 by an arbitrator), Gary Bettman went on the record and said that he hoped that one of the largest suspensions in NHL history would serve as a “wake-up call” for Wilson. The first-line forward is so hated around the league he has received death threats.
When asked about Wilson’s previous suspensions and his unpopularity around the league, TJ Oshie, one of Wilson’s biggest public defenders, ripped the NHL.
Monday morning, the Capitals announced that they will host their third annual TopGolf charity event, Wish Upon a Par on Monday, January 20 at TopGolf National Harbor from 2-7 PM.
General admission tickets are now on sale which include a meet & greet session with all attending Caps players, three and a half hours of play, food and non-alcoholic beverages, two drink tickets for beer/wine, access to a silent auction, and an event t-shirt.
The event is hosted and organized by Erin & Brooks Orpik, Tom Wilson, and Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic.
By Rachel Cohen 5 months ago
During the 2017 Mentors’ Trip, Kenichi Ohashi, the father of hockey operations analyst Tim Ohashi, promised Capitals players he would do 100 pushups after the game if they could improbably beat the Dallas Stars. The Capitals won and that night Kenichi became a legend.
The ridiculous tradition has continued and Saturday, after the Capitals defeated the Lightning 5-2, Kenichi got down on the floor and began doing pushups. Joining him on the carpet included Tom Wilson, TJ Oshie, Carl Hagelin, and Nic Dowd.
The Washington Capitals like to celebrate round number accomplishments, but sometimes important milestones happen even without zeroes.
For instance, Tom Wilson scored his 12th goal of the season in the third period of the Capitals’ 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It was Wilson’s 69th career goal. Very nice!
