Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson is set to have a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety stemming from a hit he landed on Pittsburgh Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese, the league announced Wednesday.
Wilson hammered Aston-Reese with an open-ice hit near the Capitals bench midway through the second period of a 4-3 Capitals win but was not penalized on the play, which you can watch at the top of the page.
Aston-Reese did not return to the game and Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told reporters the 23-year-old forward suffered a concussion on the play, plus a broken jaw that will require surgery. Aston-Reese’s injuries could play a role in the league determining whether or not Wilson will receive supplemental discipline, but the hearing is set to review “an illegal check to the head” yet with this particular collision the head was not the principal point of contact.
It’s the second hit from Wilson in as many games that has drawn the ire of the Penguins after Wilson knocked blueliner Brian Dumoulin out of Game 2 with a hit to the head that didn’t result in any supplemental discipline.
Wilson, 24, has delivered numerous questionable hits during his five-year NHL career. In fact, he has been suspended twice this season. He earned a two-game ban for a pre-season hit on Robert Thomas of the St. Louis Blues then, less than two weeks later, got a four-game suspension for boarding Sammy Blais, also of the Blues.
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