The Impact of Tom Wilson’s Injury on the Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals faced a challenging night against the Chicago Blackhawks, not only due to their loss in a 3-2 shootout but also because of the injury to key player Tom Wilson. Coach Spencer Carbery expressed that Wilson’s lower-body injury doesn’t look “too bad,” but the team is clearly feeling the absence of their star winger.

Wilson was injured late in the first period when his legs tangled awkwardly beneath him on a hit from Chicago defenseman Connor Murphy. After being helped down the tunnel, he was deemed questionable for the rest of the game but did not return. This loss has left the Capitals without one of their most vital players, who plays a significant role both on and off the ice.

“Significant. Huge. I mean, he’s a big part of our team,” Carbery said. “Not only for things that he does on the ice but just from a leadership, bench presence, all the different things that he brings.”

A Team Without Its Heart

The loss of Wilson wasn’t the entire reason Washington played a flat 40 minutes against one of the NHL’s bottom feeders. When he left, the score was tied at 1, and the Capitals had played far from their best. However, Wilson is the player who drags Washington into the fight, night after night after night, and the Capitals were adrift without him.

Winger Aliaksei Protas missed the game with a lower-body injury, and center Pierre-Luc Dubois has been out since the end of October. Last year, Protas, Dubois, and Wilson formed one of the best lines in the league. On Saturday, Washington learned what life is like when all three are unavailable.

“That’s a huge loss,” goaltender Logan Thompson said of Wilson. “We were already down Protas and Dubie, and those are three big-game players for us. We dug deep. We worked hard. We didn’t quit. We got a point, and hopefully Tom’s okay.”

Rookie Steps Up in the Absence of Wilson

Rookie winger Ryan Leonard did his best impression of Wilson in the third period, scoring the tying goal to force overtime and doing everything he could to propel Washington forward.

“I don’t know if I can really fill that role with what he has, but everyone tried to do their best to pitch in with what we were missing,” Leonard said. “We fought really hard for him.”

But without the player the Capitals call their heartbeat, every mountain is a bit harder to climb.

“He’s the heart and soul of this team really. The guy battles every night,” Strome said. “Puts his head on the line, basically, most nights to do whatever it takes for the team. I thought we had a decent push in the third to get back there — obviously a big goal from Lenny. Hopefully he’s not out for long. We need him. You can’t replace a guy like that.”

Game Summary and Key Moments

Losing on home ice to the 30th-best team in the NHL wasn’t the way the Washington Capitals wanted to spend Saturday night at Capital One Arena. But not only did they fall to the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2, in a shootout, they also lost winger Tom Wilson to a lower-body injury.

Wilson, who was named Wednesday to Canada’s Olympic team, exited late in the first period and did not return. He leads the Capitals in goals (22) and points (42), and his absence was felt immediately. After the game, Spencer Carbery said the team will know more about Wilson’s status Sunday, but the coach added that the injury “doesn’t look too bad.”

The Capitals fell behind early in the second period, tied it midway through the third on a goal from Ryan Leonard but couldn’t find a winner late in regulation or in overtime. Nick Foligno scored in the sixth round to drop the Capitals to 0-5 in shootouts.

Goaltender Logan Thompson, who also was selected to Canada’s Olympic team, made 31 saves for Washington (21-15-6). Spencer Knight stopped 32 shots for Chicago (16-18-7).

The Capitals entered the game without winger Aliaksei Protas, who was out with a lower-body injury. Protas took a hard fall into the boards during Washington’s loss Thursday at the Ottawa Senators and was limping as he left the arena after that game. Sonny Milano, the Capitals’ only other healthy forward, replaced Protas and was one of two Capitals to score in the shootout along with center Dylan Strome.

Chicago took the lead just 1:13 in when Ryan Donato deflected a long-range shot by Ilya Mikheyev past Thompson, but Strome — who spent four seasons with the Blackhawks — had an answer shortly after. He scored at 4:46, firing a rebound off Knight’s pad from a shot by winger Ethen Frank into the open half of the net.

The Blackhawks went on the power play early in the second period when defenseman Jakob Chychrun was boxed for roughing. Teuvo Teravainen scored from a sharp angle at 4:24 to give Chicago the lead again.

Washington’s lone power play, which came at 7:27 of the third period, again demonstrated Wilson’s absence. His seven power-play goals lead the Capitals and, without him, Washington couldn’t find the tying goal on the man advantage. A few minutes later, though, the Capitals got what they were looking for.

Leonard scored at 11:18, his first goal since he came back in late December after missing seven games with a shoulder injury. He flung himself into the glass in the corner to celebrate.

Chicago’s Nick Lardis almost won it with just over a minute left in overtime, and then the Blackhawks drew a penalty that sent Chychrun back to the box. Washington killed the abbreviated penalty to take the game to a shootout.