Tom Wilson was fined $5,000 for his punch to the back of the head of Pavel Buchnevich on Monday night, and with no supplemental discipline coming, the Rangers vented their frustration after Wilson received no discipline for his takedown of Artemi Panarin, who will now miss the final three games of the regular season.
“I think it’s a joke, to be honest with you,” New York center Ryan Strome said on Tuesday.
With Buchnevich down in the crease in the second period on Monday night, Wilson punched Buchnevich in the back of the head, leading to Panarin coming in to protect his teammate. Wilson then grabbed Panarin's hair and slammed him to the ice, and received a double-minor penalty and a 10-minute misconduct. He was able to return to the game in the third period and scored a goal in Washington’s 6-3 win.
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Panarin served a minor penalty after suffering a lower body injury that will end his season. Wilson flexed behind the glass in the penalty box while the penalties were being sorted out by the officials.
Wilson has been a controversial figure in the NHL for much of his eight-year career. He has served a total of 36 games from suspensions, most recently a seven game suspension for boarding Boston’s Brandon Carlo back in March, which resulted in Carlo being taken to the hospital. In 2018, he was suspended 20 games for a hit to the head to Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist in a preseason game.
“I know it's not my responsibility, but I just can't believe that,” Strome said. “It sends a bad message, in my opinion. I just think that the league missed one big time.”
Strome said he didn’t anticipate “anything crazy” as far as retaliation on Wilson when the two teams play again on Wednesday night, but the team is clearly frustrated with the league’s ruling.
“As players, you want the league to have your back in those situations,” Strome said. “I just feel like they didn't.”
Rangers head coach Dan Quinn echoed Strome's frustration in the ruling.
"To me, anybody in hockey, certainly in our organization, is very disappointed," Quinn said. "Certainly thought it warranted a suspension, which is really disappointing. A line was crossed. [Panarin] didn't have his helmet on, vulnerable, he got hurt. You know, to me, there was an awful lot there to suspend him."
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