Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson spent five minutes in the sin bin Thursday. Nothing permanent.
Wilson boarded Pittsburgh Penguins forward Nick Bonino from behind into the end boards and was assessed a five-minute major (watch the hit above). The Capitals lost 4-3 in OT to the Penguins on a Sidney Crosby winner.
Caps coach Barry Trotz benched Wilson for a time after that penalty and the big forward didn’t play at even strength for the rest of the game.
Afterwards, Trotz was asked if the message had been received.
He’s got jails there?
Wilson is a rough player who has an edge that will sometimes lead to dangerous and injurious plays. Just last week he was involved in a somewhat controversial play where he hit Colorado defenceman Nikita Zadorov with a crushing blow, for which no penalty was issued.
On Thursday, Bonino left the game for a time, but eventually returned and appeared to be uninjured.
Chalk this up to a coach fatigued by the grind of a long season.
