"Nowadays, you never know whether a guy will or won't do that. It was good on Jack to do that. He obviously felt really bad," the Capitals forward said of McBain.

ARLINGTON, V.A. — In the game of hockey, there's an unwritten code, one that's survived the trials of time and the ever-changing landscape of the beautiful game. It's one that Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson lives by on the ice, and he was happy to see it alive and well in Salt Lake City on Monday.

Wilson dropped the gloves with Jack McBain in the third period of Monday's tilt against Utah Hockey Club after McBain had collided with Alex Ovechkin, breaking the captain's left leg.

The Capitals forward, who'd exchanged shoves with Lawson Crouse earlier in the night, said that he appreciated McBain's willingness to go up against him after the incident, even though it was accidental.

"Yeah, I do (appreciate that). Obviously it's an unfortunate outcome on the collision, and sometimes you don't mean to do something, but the code of hockey says you stand up for yourself and you answer the bell," Wilson told The Hockey News. "You give the other team an option to stand up for their guy, so it's good to see that's still in the game, a guy steps up and answers the bell and it's finished."

Wilson won that bout, providing his team with a spark while also showing support for an injured Ovechkin.

While the next 4-6 weeks will look tough without Ovechkin, Wilson noted that there are no hard feelings toward McBain; there's actually a bit of respect for him and sympathy in knowing that his intentions weren't to hurt Ovechkin at all.

"Nowadays, you never know whether a guy will or won't do that. It was good on Jack to do that. He obviously felt really bad," Wilson said. "No one wants to see a guy like Ovi go down. It's almost bigger than hockey, so I know he felt bad about the outcome."