Rangers-Capitals game quickly became a brawl-filled mess over the Tom Wilson debacle
The Washington Capitals road rematch against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday began exactly as many hockey fans expected it to — with a brawl.
In Monday night’s game in New York, Capitals winger Tom Wilson took a cheap shot to the back of Rangers’ Pavel Buchnevich’s head before body-slamming and injuring Artemi Panarin and starting a brawl near the crease. It was a violent moment that people have come to expect from Wilson, but rather than being suspended — and Wilson is all too familiar with lengthy suspensions — the NHL handed him a $5,000 fine.
And that didn’t sit too well with a lot of people, the Rangers included, and they blasted the NHL Department of Player Safety for not suspending Wilson.
And then the second the puck dropped for the teams’ rematch Wednesday, the gloves came off for an all-out line brawl.
The puck drops and gloves drop… Rooney vs. Dowd, Di Giuseppe v. Hathaway, and Blackwell v. Hagelin #NYR #AllCaps pic.twitter.com/uAOIVMG7VP
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 5, 2021
It was an absolute mess with six penalties handed out literally within the first second of the game. And it’s likely that this ridiculousness could have been avoided if the league responded more appropriately to Wilson’s dangerous conduct in Monday’s game.
But the fighting didn’t stop there because Rangers’ Brendan Smith made sure to go after Wilson too, leading to more fighting, more penalties and an extremely crowded penalty box within the game’s first few minutes.
And, as Sportsnet Stats noted, this was the first game in NHL history to have six fights within the first five minutes and the first to have six fights in the first period since 1989.
By the time the first period ended, the teams racked up 20 penalties worth 100 minutes total.
Tom Wilson steps onto the ice for the first time and is immediately met by
Brendan Smith.pic.twitter.com/dC8KqjvSXl
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 5, 2021
We're not even five minutes in… pic.twitter.com/D7Q1GphQJ3
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 5, 2021
#NYR Anthony Bitetto vs #ALLCAPS Michael Raffl
@NHLonNBCSports pic.twitter.com/KBoysddVmd
— Here's Your Replay
(@HeresYourReplay) May 5, 2021
#NYR Ryan Strome vs #ALLCAPS Lars Eller
— Here's Your Replay
Penalty Box situation 5 minutes into the Caps vs NYR game. pic.twitter.com/HVhhq2H5WM
— House League Hockey All-Star (@HLHkyAllStar) May 5, 2021
It was a wild first period, and again, as many hockey fans noted, this chaos possibly could have been prevented or at least mitigated if the NHL dealt Wilson a harsher punishment beyond a $5,000 fine. And none of this is anything the league, the Rangers or the Capitals should be proud of.
I've watched a lot of games after a player wasn't suspended, and there's a team looking for frontier justice. That player gets jumped, they have their fight. Maybe he has another one later.
This isn't that. This is the Rangers adding a coda to their statement to the NHL.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 5, 2021
NHL Player Safety watching the Rangers-Capitals first period pic.twitter.com/BS1SgxUWWX
— Andrew Battifarano
(@AndrewAtBatt) May 5, 2021
The NHL woke up this week and literally chose violence.
— Ryan S. Clark (@ryan_s_clark) May 5, 2021
This is gross and I hate it. I want to watch hockey, not wanton violence. The NHL disagrees. Campbell, Parros, and surely many more. They'd rather create dangerous vigilante violence than support the sport they claim to love https://t.co/Dlqa3BqcT3
— Alex Novet (@AlexNovet) May 5, 2021
the caps-rangers game is literally the dumbest thing in the world, that the nhl brought upon itself
best sport, worst league strikes again
— x – #1 minnesota wild fan (@domluszczyszyn) May 5, 2021
Great job @NHLPlayerSafety. Setting the game back years. pic.twitter.com/CfJcNo6UMg
— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) May 5, 2021
The NHL got what they created. Absolute side show not fit for a professional league.
— Andrew Berkshire (@AndrewBerkshire) May 5, 2021
This looks more like the WWE than the NHL #WSHvsNYR
pic.twitter.com/oDR1gErWek— Michael Ball (@Michael44004861) May 6, 2021
You happy @NHLPlayerSafety?
This is you. Congrats.
— Adam Wylde (@AdamWylde) May 5, 2021
I would like to congratulate @NHLPlayerSafety for showcasing their incompetence. This was all avoidable, good on #NYR for standing up for themselves
— x- Owen (@0rd83677) May 6, 2021
Buch gets 2 for a love tap on Wilson, Mantha punches Buch, no call.
Then this is what happens. Buchnevich was wrong for the cross check, but when cheap shots on a player are not called by the refs, it escalates.
Sound familiar, @NHLPlayerSafety?!?
— John – Lafreniere Is The Way (@92In82) May 6, 2021
This could've been avoided. Well done, @NHLPlayerSafety
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) May 5, 2021
Refs gave Tom Wilson a 10 minute misconduct to settle the game down. Could have just given a 1 game suspension you idiots @NHLPlayerSafety #NYR #ALLCAPS
— Kristoph Mackey (@yumyumravioli) May 5, 2021