Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson has been offered an in-person hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety to review his hit on Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo from Friday night's game at TD Garden.
The Bruins were furious at the hit, which resulted in Carlo leaving the game and being taken to a local hospital.
B's players and head coach Bruce Cassidy were not shy about giving their honest reaction to Wilson's hit following their 5-1 win. Bruins forward Brad Marchand called Wilson's hit "bulls--t" during an intermission interview on NESN.
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Cassidy slams Tom Wilson over 'predatory' hit on Bruins' Brandon Carlo
Capitals coach Peter Laviolette saw it from a totally different angle. He doesn't seem to think there was anything wrong with the hit.
“I saw the hit. I mean, his feet were on the ice, he stayed down with everything,” Laviolette said after the game. “Just looked like a hard hit in the corner. I'm not exactly sure what happened. But to me it looked like just a hit.”
Wilson has a lengthy history -- including four career NHL suspensions -- of dangerous hits. Some of his other antics have gone unpunished, too.
Boston Bruins
In all honesty, it's not surprising that Laviolette reacted this way. We don't often see a coach throw his players under the bus, especially when a suspension could be forthcoming. A coach will want to give his player every chance to avoid a suspension or reduce it.
Wilson, despite his last suspension coming in September of 2018, is still a player who plays on the edge consistently. He goes up to the line and will cross it more often than most players.
It would benefit both Wilson and the Capitals if he dialed back his aggression just a little bit. He's shown at times during his career that he can be an effective player playing a power forward style without the dangerous hits. Wilson does have skill and scored 20-plus goals in each of the last two seasons.
Unfortunately for the rest of the league, Wilson still has the potential to dish out dirty hits like the one on Carlo from Friday night.