The 29-year-old did not appreciate Givani Smith's punch from the bench in the Capitals' 4-2 loss to the Panthers.
WASHINGTON -- For Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson, Saturday's game against the Florida Panthers was one that he had circled on his calendar.
Not only was it a big game against the club that ended the Capitals' 2022 postseason run and left Wilson with a torn ACL that held him out until January, but it would also be a chippy game as he came face-to-face with the likes of Matthew Tkachuk and more.
hWilson finished the game with one goal, one assist, four hits and four blocks, and he also got involved in quite a few scrums while also picking up a roughing penalty.
He also experienced a new first in his career: getting punched from the bench, as Givani Smith stood up from his seat to hit No. 43.
Wilson thought that the play should've led to a potential ejection and a bigger call for Smith, but it ended up being matching roughing penalties as Wilson then got involved in a scrum at the side of the bench following the incident.
"I don't know what the rule is. I thought if you get punched from off the ice, it's probably a game misconduct. We go 4-on-4 and then we kill two to three penalties after that... we're still trying to win games, so that was a little bit frustrating."
Head coach Peter Laviolette also expressed disappointment with the dual minors following the 4-2 defeat, saying that there would be a different standard if his players had done the same thing.
"It's just the wrong call," Laviolette argued. "If we're allowed to start doing that, then all hell will break loose out there. Then to have matching penalties, it was the wrong call."
Back in 2018, Tyler Bertuzzi got a two-game suspension for punching Matt Calvert from the bench.
While he wasn't happy with how things played out, Wilson said looking back that maybe things would have been different if he didn't retaliate.
"I maybe shouldn't have reacted, but you get punched from the bench, you just kind of react with the territory," Wilson said.
That being said, the 6-4 winger was more than ready to be a physical presence and bring that same energy to the rink, even with his team no longer in the running for a playoff spot.
"You try to go out there and work as hard as you can and take pride in your game, but things happen and kind of has a bit of that playoff feel where it was getting chippy," Wilson said. "There was some big hits and stuff, I'm just trying to put my head down and work."