Tom Wilson was back at it on Monday night.
After Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanacek made a save in Monday's game against the Rangers in New York, players began jostling each other around in the crease. The Rangers' Pavel Buchnevich was on his stomach and defenseless when Wilson punched his head into the ice, inciting a bigger brawl.
When Artemi Panarin stepped in to defend Buchnevich, Wilson grabbed Panarin by the head and slammed it into the ice too:
Incorrect. Pulled his hair and then slammed his head on the ground. Slow-no video, watch Wilsonβs left hand pic.twitter.com/CLT1t2blSm
β dantelives13 (@dantelives13) May 4, 2021
Panarin left the game.
Wilson was given a 10-minute misconduct and a double-minor for roughing, and flexed at the Rangers players while in the penalty box.
Look at this f*cking π€‘
β Here's Your Replay β¬οΈ (@HeresYourReplay) May 4, 2021
π₯ @MSGNetworks pic.twitter.com/W9zCRN8OJr
The full ordeal can be seen here:
"We all saw it," Rangers coach David Quinn said after the game. "There are lines that can't be crossed in this game. There's just zero respect for the game in general. You got one of the star players in this league now that could have gotten seriously, seriously hurt in that incident. You all saw what happened, and it happens time and time again with him. Totally unnecessary."
βI figured you should have some more respect for the game and for the players," Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad said. "I honestly donβt know where to start. itβs just horrible. Zero respect. And I donβt know why Iβm surprised. Just horrible.β
On Tuesday morning the department of player safety announced that Wilson had been fined just $5,000, the maximum amount allowed by the CBA, for roughing Buchnevich.
YOUR TURN: What kind of discipline *should* Wilson have faced from the league?
