Capitals coach Spencer Carbery just explained Tom Wilson's hit on Panthers winger Sandis Vilmanis.
"You hate to see anybody have to leave the game," Carbery said after Washington's 4-3 win earlier today. Then he walked through the play from his bench's point of view.
Carbery said Wilson was "committed to making contact," and that everything looked fine as Vilmanis spun on the wall play.
"Okay, normally, nine times out of 10, that's no big deal, and nothing happens," Carbery said, according to Sammi Silber. But "Willy's a big, strong guy," and the coach said a player who would usually absorb a little contact reacts differently when he takes 240 pounds of it.
The posts cut off there, so that's all of his answer we have.
For anyone catching up, Tom Wilson's ejection for boarding Vilmanis came on a five-minute major and a game misconduct. Vilmanis did not return.
Silber added her own read on the sequence: Wilson probably didn't have enough time to stop, because Vilmanis turned as the hit was coming in.
Wilson's discipline now sits with Player Safety
Paul Maurice wasn't interested in debating the hit. Per Jameson Olive, he said he'd leave that to the Department of Player Safety, and Olive said he would expect supplemental discipline.
A player with 30 penalty minutes through 14 games rarely gets the benefit of the doubt, and that is the hole in the late-turn defense. Carbery's account explains the physics. It doesn't erase the major.
On the injury, Maurice's first update on Vilmanis offered no diagnosis. Maurice said Vilmanis will be looked at by another doctor tomorrow, and the Panthers likely need him back in Florida before they have a real good idea.
Vilmanis has 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in 15 games this season. The Panthers, who lost 4-3 in Washington, play at Boston on Sunday, and they'll learn more about his status by then than the Bruins will.
Quick hits
NASHVILLE PREDATORSThe Predators beat the Blues 3-1 in the NHL Network showcase, and the game turned in the second period when Nashville stopped chasing and started smothering.
ST. LOUIS BLUESSt. Louis lost 3-1 at Nashville after a hot start. It's their third straight defeat and a 1-2-1 finish to the four-game road trip.
NEW YORK RANGERSJoonas Korpisalo gets the nod in goal tonight in Seattle.
OTTAWA SENATORSLinus Ullmark's return from injury has been delayed again, and the Senators will have to wait longer to get him back.
MINNESOTA WILDThe Wild have activated Marcus Foligno and Nick Foligno, and both are expected to play tonight against the Lightning. That's a real lineup lift.
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