Who would’ve believed that ? Twenty-four hours after the National League turned a blind eye to Tom Wilson’s actions against two Rangers players, the Capitals-Rangers return game turned into a boxing gala.
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From the initial face-off, three brawls broke out simultaneously. At the 50e Second, Wilson came to blows with veteran Brendan Smith.
Then, at 4:14 minutes into the first period, the two centers that faced off on the face-off, Ryan Strome and Lars Eller, also threw in the gloves.
In all, six fights erupted in the first five minutes of the duel. Depending on the network Sportsnet, this would be a first in NHL history, which, in a league that has already counted the “Big Bad Bruins” and “Broad Street Bullies” among its reading circles, says a lot about the climate that led to this fiasco.
Is this a message from the Rangers to the NHL? Or to those who, like Mark Messier earlier today, pointed out the lack of robustness of this team? Either way, the Capitals expected it.
“You have to be ready for everything tonight,” Eller said by videoconference on Monday morning. If they want to start something, we will approach it as we always do: we will protect ourselves, we will protect our teammates. ”
Wilson, who also received a misconduct penalty late in the first period, did not return to play in the second period. The Capitals announced he had an upper body injury.
Eller defends Wilson
The spillovers come on the heels of Monday’s game, in which Wilson roughed up forwards Pavel Buchnevich and Artemi Panarin in a near-net scrum. Panarin, one of the best forwards in the NHL, has been injured and his season is over.
Unsurprisingly, Eller defended Wilson on his Wednesday morning video conference. Note that Eller and Wilson aren’t just teammates with the Capitals; they are also the representatives of the Capitals on the executive committee of the NHL Players Association (AJLNH).
In a three-minute response, Eller basically explained that the incident had been exaggerated due to Wilson’s reputation.
“I’ve been playing in the league for a while, I’ve seen a lot worse things. I don’t think people see it that clearly when it comes to Tom. Opinions are biased, and I’m not talking about people in general, I’m talking about journalists, people on television, who have a voice and who use it, ”said the former Canadiens center first.
Eller went on to speak of a confrontation between Sidney Crosby and Travis Konecny, in Tuesday’s duel between the Penguins and the Flyers.
“They’re in a fight, and one guy jumps onto the other’s back and takes him by the head. The other retorts, flaps him to the ice and hits him on the head a few times. The player had a penalty. ”
“The same thing happened with us, it’s similar situations, but with different players. The situation [de Wilson] took on exaggerated proportions due, I think, to the player involved. ”
Clearly in verve, Eller continued his response, even after the thanks from the reporter who asked the question.
“I don’t want to see players get injured. But Panarin jumps on Wilson. When you jump on a guy, when you start to wrestle, you have to be ready to wrestle, even if you are defending your teammate. These things happen all the time. I don’t think it was a big story, but it turned into one because it was Tom. ”
The case of the Canadian
The wind of support desired by several supporters following Tuesday’s Rangers statement does not appear to have materialized yet. After the Rangers demanded the departure of George Parros as head of the NHL Player Safety Department, no team followed suit.
At Le Canadien, the organization’s response came from Dominique Ducharme, questioned on this delicate issue during his pre-match press briefing on Wednesday.
“These are pictures you don’t like to see,” said the head coach, of the scrum in which Wilson injured Panarin.
“Player safety is number 1. As a result of that… I don’t have the information the league relied on to make its decision, but player safety is number 1.”
Ducharme then limited himself to short answers. “Like you, we saw the images and that’s it,” he said to a colleague.
To another, who asked him if he was surprised Wilson got away with a $ 5,000 fine and no suspension, Ducharme replied, “It would mean too much if I answered. ”
The Habs have had their own history with the Player Safety Department this season. In the first month of the season, Joel Armia, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jake Evans all received checks to the head.
On January 21, Armia was struck down by Tyler Myers, who was kicked out of the game – with only two minutes remaining – and who was not suspended. Armia suffered a concussion and missed three weeks of action. The Department of Player Safety had posted a video explaining that even though the head had been hit, it was not the primary point of contact.
On January 30, Jesperi Kotkaniemi was defeated by Dillon Dube in a collision the NHL had deemed “inevitable.” Kotkaniemi was not injured on the streak.
Then, on February 6, it was Jake Evans’ turn to be defeated by Erik Gudbranson. The defenseman who was playing for the Senators at the time had not been punished or sanctioned for his act. Claude Julien, who until then limited his comments on this type of incident, then said a little more.
“I see a shoulder to the head, but I do not know if we will find a reason that it is inevitable or what … The shoulder certainly hits the head of Jake Evans …”, had said the then head coach. of the Canadian.
Then, on March 30, Connor McDavid nudged Kotkaniemi, for which the star striker was fined $ 5,000.
No Canadiens player has been suspended or fined this season.
Asked whether, in light of the above incidents, the NHL is doing enough to protect players, Ducharme replied, “No comment on that. ”
Union radio silence
It was said, Eller and Wilson are co-representatives of the Capitals to the NHLPA.
Silent since Tuesday evening, the players’ union has also confirmed, in an email to Press, do not want to get involved in the matter.
“Discipline on the ice is well and truly part of the collective agreement, but we have no say in the personnel who work for the NHL. We will therefore not comment on this file, ”wrote a public relations officer from the AJLNH.
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