We finally know Tom Wilson’s take on his actions towards Pavel Buchnevich and Artemi Panarin, four days after the incident took place at Madison Square Garden.
Wilson quickly became enemy number one amongst Rangers fans after he not only appeared to cross-check Buchnevich in the head, but also throw Panarin to the ice without a helmet on. The latter was consequently ruled out for the rest of the season after hitting his head against the ice on the ice and New York fans (and all hockey fans for that matter) couldn’t believe he didn’t earn a suspension.
Two days after a chaotic following game in which 100 penalty minutes were awarded in the first period(!), which included a Wilson fight, the power-forward finally spoke to the media and share his take on what happened. In his mind, the initial scrum was routine and he didn’t expect things to blow up like they did. He also added that he’s okay after leaving the contest with an upper-body injury, and that he reached out to Panarin afterward.
Well, we can tell you one side that doesn’t agree with the 27-year-old! The New York Rangers issued a statement of their own expressing their disappointment with the decision to not suspend Wilson, and even called for George Parros’ firing.
And they paid the price for it, too.
The Rangers and Caps won’t meet again until next season, hopefully that’s enough time for everyone to just cool down a little. What a week.
(H/T Stephen Whyno)
