Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy defeated Washington Capitals striker Tom Wilson for what he called “a predatory blow” to defender Brandon Carlo in Friday night’s TD Garden game.
Carlo fell after Wilson went to the head in the corner, behind the Boston net, hitting the defender’s head on the glass with 90 seconds to go until the end of the first period. Carlo received a cross check from Jakub Vrana on his way to the ice and stayed there for several minutes.
Cassidy said Carlo left the arena in an ambulance and went to a hospital, but could not confirm whether he suffered a concussion.
“It clearly seemed to me that he hit the head. A defenseless player, a predatory blow from a player who has done this before,” said Cassidy of Wilson. “I don’t understand why there was no penalty imposed on the ice. They huddled together, but I couldn’t get an explanation of why.”
During his eight-year career at Capitals, Wilson was one of the most penalized – and most suspended – players in the NHL. He is the 10th among active players in penalty minutes, behind only those who have been in the league for five or more years more than him.
He was not available for comment after the game.
The music fell silent in the empty arena after Carlo was injured, and the Bruins’ bench could be heard cursing Wilson. When Carlo finally got his skates on, the only noise was that of his teammates hitting the boards with their drumsticks.
No penalty was scored.
When the teams were launched for the second period, Bruins’ center, Patrice Bergeron, skated to Wilson and spoke to him as he stretched. Capitals star Alex Ovechkin skated to monitor the situation, as did an officer.
Players began to push each other after the next whistle, and Capitals defender Brenden Dillon was kicked out for violence in a so-called transparent make-up. With about six minutes to go, Jarred Tinordi and Wilson from Boston dropped their gloves.
“Sometimes, when these things happen and there is no call, the players sort of solve on the ice in their own way, and we feel like we stepped back and did what we could do and won the hockey game, and we tried to make it a private player you know it was unnecessary, “said Cassidy.
He added: “I assume it will be analyzed by the National Hockey League.”
Bruins responded to Wilson’s blow with a second period of three goals and doubled another in the third to win 5-1.
“Leave the fight aside, the crowd came out with four goals [in a row] there, ” said Tinordi, who has only been playing his second game with the Bruins since they claimed him for Nashville’s resignations.
“As this group is close, I’m not surprised to see the boys react in a big way after one of our guys fell. You can’t have guys taking liberty with our players out there. ”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.