In a crucial Game 7 in Tampa Bay, Braydon Coburn roughed up Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin during a 1st period net front scrum. Tom Wilson was involved in the play, but took great exception after Coburn removed Kuzy’s jersey. Both Coburn and Wilson received unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, following this play :
Coburn literally undresses Kuznetsov pic.twitter.com/rgfwwjYdym
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 24, 2018
Wilson was pissed though, and you just knew he wasn’t going to let that go unanswered. As soon as the pair emerged from the box, Wilson removed his gloves and proceeded to stand up for his teammate and teach Braydon Coburn a lesson. It was an old school tussle which left Wilson with bloody knuckles and heading back to penalty box for an additional five minutes.
Wilson vs Coburn fight#CapsBolts #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/JcwpkQpygZ
— HockeyKot (@hockeykot) May 24, 2018
Immediately commentators on twitter began criticizing Wilson for the lack of discipline. The Capitals had the puck in the offensive zone, he is a first line player worth more than Coburn, and the Capitals are on the road. Sure, those are all valid reasons not to fight in that situation, but Wilson couldn’t let Coburn’s actions go unanswered. In contrast to many others, we immediately tweeted our support of the decision. Had Tampa Bay converted one of their many chances to follow, and the momentum had shifted to the Lightning, it clearly would have been a turning point in the game to benefit Tampa Bay.
Shot of the night from @PostSports' Jonathan Newton
➡ Live updates here: https://t.co/LtoxDuopi5 pic.twitter.com/bP3qEAnHcI
— Post Sports (@PostSports) May 24, 2018
But that didn’t happen. The Capitals came together as a team. Holtby stood on his head and the Caps kept the puck out of the net for two straight periods. As we type this, the Capitals are up 3-0 heading into the 3rd period, and we believe the Wilson fight is one of the reasons why. It takes all types of plays to make it to the Stanley Cup finals, and although Wilson has made himself more valuable than just a fighter this season, we believe this was the right time to pick his spot. It takes more to win games than just scoring and defense. Sometimes you have to drop the gloves and defend your star teammate. Well done, Wilson.
