The Rangers are eliminated from playoff contention, but Wednesday night’s matchup with the Capitals will still provide plenty of intrigue.
After oft-suspended and controversial Capitals forward Tom Wilson punched Pavel Buchnevich in the back of the head and ended Artemi Panarin’s season with a slam to the ice on Monday night, many wonder if there will be any retaliation from New York at The Garden.
Washington’s Lars Eller doesn’t think there should be, nor does he think his teammate did anything wrong when compared to the rest of the league.
“I think Tom is handling it like a pro,” Eller told reporters over Zoom. “I think the thing has been blown out of proportion. I’ve played in the league for a while and I’ve seen a lot worse things happen. I don’t think people see things clearly when it comes to Tom, with things that he’s involved in.”
Wilson’s actions on Monday, which included him flexing in the penalty box after injuring Panarin, led to further outrage from fans, coaches and players, especially after Wilson was issued a $5,000 fine with no suspension despite his history with controversial hits. Earlier this year, he was suspended seven games for hospitalizing Boston’s Brandon Carlo, and was suspended 20 games in a preseason game in 2018.
Still, Eller doesn’t believe Wilson did anything worthy of such outrage.
“I think there’s already a biased opinion, and I’m not talking about random people,” Eller said. “I’m talking about TV people, journalists, people who have a voice. As late as last night, I was watching Pittsburgh and Philly play, and [Sidney] Crosby and [Travis] Konechny got tangled up, and one guy jumps on the other guy’s bad and puts him in a headlock and the other guy retaliates and does a similar, slams him into the ice and gives him a couple jabs to the back of the head, and it was a penalty. That’s what the ref assessed in the situation. The same thing happened the night before here at MSG. Very similar situations, but different players. One situation is blown out of proportion, I think, because of the player who was involved.”
In the play referenced by Eller, Crosby pushed Konechny’s head into the ice from the back if his neck, and continued to do so until the two were separated. Of course, many don’t see the instances as similar, especially given Wilson’s history.
The Rangers released a statement on Tuesday expressing their displeasure over the league’s ruling, stating they felt Wilson should have been suspended indefinitely and even called the NHL’s Department of Player Safety head George Parros “unfit” for his job. We’ll see if the Rangers take matters into their own hands on Wednesday, but it doesn’t seem like Eller thinks payback would be justified.
“I could find you several clips of similar situations where there are scrums in the paint and guys are falling over each other, laying on each other and giving jabs to the back of the neck and side to guys who are lying down and getting into a wrestling match after,” Eller said. “It happens frequently, but it’s not being put into context in this situation. I think it’s being blown out of proportion, and it’s not like it hasn’t happened before in this game.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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