Tom Wilson leads the Capitals past
the Hurricanes 3-1 with blocks, a goal and an assist
[May 09, 2025]
By HOWARD FENDRICH
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson did a little bit of everything for the
Washington Capitals — and he wasn't sure the box score properly
reflected quite just how much he contributed Thursday night.
He produced the primary assist on John Carlson's go-ahead goal on a
power play early in the third period of Washington’s 3-1 victory
over the Carolina Hurricanes to knot their Eastern Conference
second-round playoff series at a game apiece.
Wilson put the puck into an empty net in the final minute to seal
the outcome. He provided his usual brand of physical play, hitting
and shoving and mixing it up right up until the end. Oh, yes, and he
was credited with two of Washington's 32 blocked shots, 22 more than
Carolina, although Wilson was skeptical about his total.
“I only had two of them?” a smiling Wilson asked reporters with mock
indignation. “The guys up top need to pay a little more attention.”
With Wilson leading the way physically and emotionally for the
hosts, the Capitals managed to get going right away following a 2-1
overtime loss two nights earlier.
“He was leading the charge tonight, I thought,” coach Spencer
Carbery said. “He was really engaged.”
No other forward spent as much time on the ice as Wilson did
Thursday, and Carbery credited him with being one of the players —
along with Alex Ovechkin — who wanted to make sure the club would be
better prepared for Game 2 than for Game 1.
“Game 1 wasn’t good enough,” Wilson said. “We knew that.”
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Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson, second from right,
celebrates his goal in the third period of Game 2 of a second-round
NHL hockey playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes, Thursday,
May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
As teammate after teammate lavished praise on him
before the series shifts to Raleigh for Game 3 on Saturday, Wilson
sought to deflect the compliments.
“He does everything the right way," goalie Logan Thompson said. "We
built off it. The whole stadium built off it.”
Connor McMichael, who scored the game's opening goal for Washington
on a breakaway after a turnover by the Hurricanes, explained
Wilson's role this way: “When we need a spark, he’s there to provide
it. You need a big play or a big goal, he’s always the one doing
it.”
Wilson kind of shrugged off a reporter's question about a head-first
dive that thwarted a chance for Carolina's Jordan Staal, describing
the play a bit before ending by saying simply: “You've just got to
hope that the puck hits you.”
Wilson also said he didn't think he was “really doing anything more
than everybody else on the team.”
Ovechkin's take on his long-time teammate?
“He set the tone. He’s our leader,” the top goal-scorer in NHL
history said. “He plays smart. He plays physical.”
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