Tom Wilson finally speaks about the Rangers' controversial incident
After being involved in a high-profile incident during a game against the New York Rangers, Tom Wilson is denying that he did anything malicious.
Wilson addressed the media for the first time since being given a 10-minute misconduct for punching Rangers winger Pavel Buchnevich and throwing Artemi Panarin to the ground.
After Buchnevich rushed the net, the Capitals enforcer said he was simply defending his goalie:
«Their guy goes to our net and kicks at our goalie and goes in there with his stick,» Wilson said, via TMZ.
«At a young age in hockey, you're taught to stand up for your goalie, so that's what I was doing.»
As for the slam, Wilson stated he was reacting to Panarin apparently jumping on his back:
«I think anybody's first reaction would try to be just to throw them off you and wrestle them down to the ice,» Wilson said, per TMZ. «And, that's what I thought about it at the time.»
It was a "fairly routine hockey scrum," according to the eight-year veteran. The Rangers were adamantly opposed.
The NHL's decision not to suspend Wilson for the incident during the Capitals-Rangers game enraged New York. As soon as the puck dropped on Wednesday night, the two teams got into a line brawl.
Line brawl to start tonight's game between the Rangers and Capitals at MSG pic.twitter.com/52pvvVZHwx� Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) May 5, 2021
Wilson did say he reached out to Panarin to express regret about how the situation played out. But hockey fans really shouldn't be all that surprised by his mindset.
The Capitals veteran leads the NHL in penalty minutes and has been in the top three in that category in four other seasons.
Credit: Cluchpoints
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