The Boston Bruins lost one of their most valuable players Friday night when defenseman Brandon Carlo had to be taken to the hospital after a dangerous hit along the boards from Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson.
Anyone who follows the NHL has likely heard of Wilson. He's constantly playing on the edge and often goes over it.
He crossed the line again at TD Garden when the veteran forward collided with Carlo on a hit that included head contact. There was no penalty called on the ice.
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Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy didn't mince words when asked about Wilson's hit following the game.
"It's a fast game. We play hard. They play hard. But you can see it -- he hit him clearly in the head," Cassidy said. "Brandon goes to the hospital from that hit. Clearly, it looked to me like he got him right in the head. A defenseless player. Predatory hit from a player who's done that before.
"I don't understand why there wasn't a penalty called on the ice, (the officials) huddled up. I did not get an explanation why. It's out of our hands after that. We just have to play hockey, try to stick together as a team and play the right way. Sometimes when that stuff happens and there's no call, the players kind of settle it on the ice in their own way. We felt we pushed back, did what we could do and won the hockey game. Tried to let that particular player know it was unnecessary."
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The Bruins, as Cassidy noted, took care of business themselves after the referees failed to call a penalty on Wilson's hit.
Newly acquired defenseman Jarred Tinordi and rookie forward Trent Frederic both fought Wilson. The Bruins, to their credit, didn't let their emotions get the best of them and cruised to a 5-1 win.
The NHL has offered Wilson an in-person hearing to discuss the hit on Carlo, opening the door for a potential suspension of five games or more. Wilson has been suspended four times in his career, with the last one coming in September of 2018.