Woah, that was close. The playoff series between the Capitals and the Canadiens has been intense, especially following game 3, where Logan Thompson, who was the sole reason the Capitals held it together in game 2, walked off the ice injured after conceding 5 goals. Spencer Carbery was even open about the faults of his own team in the postgame media interviews. “It wasn’t good overall, the whole thing without the puck, all three zones,” Carbery said. It seemed from afar that things were falling apart; it even felt that way till the third period of game 4, that is, until Tom Wilson turned everything around, sparking a 2-5 comeback victory.
In game 4, Tom Wilson delivered a body check to Alexandre Carrier, who was in possession of the puck at the time. It was a pretty heavy hit. If you saw it, Wilson literally threw himself at Carrier, who lost control of the puck that ultimately made its way to Brandon Duhaime, who ended up scoring and tying the game 2-all.
The Capitals went on to score 3 more goals and ultimately won this one, giving them a 3-1 lead in the series with a solid chance to knock the Canadiens out. When asked about the game-changing hit in a postgame interview, Wilson said, “Yeah, it’s been a physical series both ways. Getting hit and giving hits, they’ve been really physical, so. It’s a long series, and you just try and kind of invest and continue to play hard every shift you’re out there, but you know it was a big hit, and boys were able to score right after so that’s kinda the way hockey goes.”
In a thumping Bell Centre, where the home crowd often acts as an extra man for the Canadiens, the hit was as important as it was timely. Soon after, the Capitals were able to level the score, silence the fans, and then go on to win the whole game. The hit swung the momentum firmly onto the side of the Capitals, so naturally its impact has been widely discussed in the aftermath.
What analysts think about Tom Wilson’s hit that turned the game around for the Capitals
Tom Wilson’s hit on a Carrier was a clear example of fully committing to the act. In the videos recounting the moment, one is able to see Wilson literally throwing his entire body at Carrier without a moment of hesitation. This sort of conviction in itself is a skill and has not gone unnoticed, with many analysts dissecting the moment to fully appreciate how significant it was to the game.
In a recent talk with Jay Onrait, hockey analyst Martin Biron shared his thoughts on the moment. “He is so hard to handle because he can play in all situations; in this game he played 21 minutes.” Biron said, “He had 6 hits, drew 2 penalties, scored an empty net hit, and that big hit on Carrier changed the tone of the game and led to the goal that made it 2-2.”
“But everybody knows when Wilson is on the ice, you have to keep looking in your rearview mirror and seeing where he’s at. He drew a couple penalties but was still impactful by playing physically and playing well. Fantastic game by Tom Wilson.” Maybe Wilson is changing things up with his game after his teammates called his hits softer than captain Alex Ovechkin’s.
Whatever the case may be, that hit will certainly go down in Capital’s history, because now, all thanks to Tom Wilson’s body slam, they have a serious chance of knocking the Canadiens completely out of the series on Wednesday!
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