- Tom Wilson says he committed to a check and Sandis Vilmanis turned into the boards
- The Capitals forward spoke Monday for the first time since the ejection and the no-suspension ruling
- Read below for Wilson’s full explanation and what Spencer Carbery said
Tom Wilson says he never expected Sandis Vilmanis to go into the boards the way he did.
The Capitals forward spoke Monday after practice, his first public comments since the hit that got him a five-minute major and a game misconduct in Washington’s 4-3 win over the Panthers. Wilson was asked what he saw on the play.
“Yeah, I think things happen quickly,” Wilson said. “I see him kind of look at me, and I committed to finish a check, and then he turns his body positioning away from me and doesn’t really brace for the contact. When I was coming into the hit, I didn’t think the boards were really even going to be in play.”
Wilson then explained what he was going for.
“I was trying to make a north-south hit towards my own end, and then his body positioning changes and he falls into the boards,” he said. “It happens quickly in our game, and I wasn’t really expecting him to bounce off me that way. Hopefully, he’s all good.”
Watch the hit again:
Capitals coach Spencer Carbery described the play the same way after Saturday’s game, pointing to the last-second turn. “He turns, and Willy’s committed to making contact,” Carbery said.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice took a different route and declined to weigh in, saying he would leave it to the Department of Player Safety. The league did not take it up. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Sunday that Wilson would not get a hearing, which we covered when Wilson avoided suspension.
Wilson also said he reached out to Florida after the game. He was asked whether he had checked on Vilmanis.
“I spoke to a couple guys that I know well in their room and just kind of said, ‘I hope he’s good, wish him well,’ and they gave me some response,” Wilson said. “I’m not going to get into those details, but hopefully he’s good. You never want to see a guy leave a game or be injured.”
Vilmanis did not play in Florida’s 4-1 loss to the Bruins on Sunday. The Panthers finish their three-game road trip Tuesday in Columbus, and the Capitals head to Ottawa the same night. Our original report on the ejection has the first look at the hit.
