The Washington Capitals were the last team to clinch a postseason berth but they became the first squad eliminated from the playoffs after losing four consecutive games to the New York Rangers.
The frustration among the losers was palpable all series long and it boiled over on Sunday, April 29, when Capitals alternate captain Tom Wilson embodied it by attacking Rangers defenseman Adam Fox for no apparent reason late in the first period.
Rangers’ Vincent Trocheck had just scored a power-play goal giving New York the lead back when Wilson decided to engage with Fox out of the blue.
Fox was skating past Wilson and it didn’t look like he said anything to the Capitals player, but the enforcer grabbed him by the arm and ignited a little bit of a scuffle.
The Rangers, coming off winning the Presidents’ Trophy as the best regular-season team, also became the first team to clinch a second-round berth by sweeping Washington 4-0 in the first round. New York will face the winner of the matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders, currently led 3-1 by the former.
Tom Wilson Called Out For Attacking Fox: ‘He’s An Idiot’
Wilson isn’t new to this type of drama, and he’s in fact known for having this behavior on a steady basis.
His latest big-time offense happened earlier this season when he received a six-game suspension (the maximum under the current rules) for high-sticking Toronto Maple Leafs‘ Noah Gregor.
Former NHL player and MSG Network analyst Steve Valiquette called out Wilson’s behavior and his attack on Fox during the broadcast of Game 4 on Sunday, April 29.
“Listen, this guy is the reason why we’re actually here right now because it was (2021) that he rag-dolled (Artemi) Panarin,” Valiquette said. “But the thing about him is… he’s an idiot.”
Valiquette introduced his criticism by referencing Wilson’s violent actions from a 2021 (not 2018, as he said live) game between the Capitals and the Rangers. Wilson was involved in a controversial sequence as he punched Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich in the back of the head and then rag-dolled a helmetless Panarin.
“You like to have those guys on your team,” Valiquette continued. “You know the way he’s going to behave is not going to be the way you should behave.
“You don’t grab a guy, Fox, when he’s on his way to celebrate with his teammates. You wait for the next scrum to wait in there and mix it up.”
Tom Wilson & Capitals Frustrated From the Get-Go
Without excusing Wilson’s action on Fox, the truth is that Washington’s frustrations have been growing bigger and bigger from the start of the first-round series against the Rangers.
Things couldn’t have gotten to a worse start for them as Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen, making his postseason debut on Sunday, turned the puck over and gifted Rangers’ Kaapo Kakko a goal just 57 seconds into the contest.
“It happened fast,” Kakko told reporters after the game on April 28, via Harvey Valentine of NHL.com. “I was thinking maybe take a couple steps like a breakaway, but I was close to the net already. I wanted to shoot it.”
That was only the first of four goals scored by New York on Sunday, including an empty-net goal, in a game that had little to no competitiveness in a series in which the Rangers gave no option to their opponents.
Artemi Panarin, Jack Roslovic, and Trocheck were the three goalscorers to follow Kakko’s effort while netminder Igor Shesterkin stopped 23 of the 25 shots he saw in Game 4.
The Rangers wrapped up their first-round sweep outscoring the Capitals 15-7 and limiting Washington’s leads through four games to a meager 3:21 of the total 240 minutes played.
“We don’t live under a rock,” Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said after the game, per USA Today’s Vince Mercogliano. “We know what has been happening to previous Presidents’ winners, but at the same time, I don’t know if that’s the main thing that drives us.
“We find ways to win.”
Like Heavy.com’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy.com
The post Tom Wilson Bizarrely Attacks Opponent for No Apparent Reason appeared first on Heavy.com.