NEW YORK — Tom Wilson was Public Enemy No. 1 in the Rangers universe for two days, and by the time the puck dropped for Wednesday’s game against the Washington Capitals, after the Rangers had shockingly fired president John Davidson and GM Jeff Gorton before the game, he seemed to be an afterthought.
He was not.
In the Rangers’ final home game of the season, a nationally televised rematch against the Capitals at Madison Square Garden that the Capitals won, 4-2, the Rangers let Wilson and the Capitals know exactly what they thought of the Washington forward’s assault on Artemi Panarin in Monday’s game that had ended Panarin’s season.
On the game’s opening faceoff, all three Rangers forwards, Kevin Rooney, Colin Blackwell and Phillip DiGiuseppe dropped their gloves and fought the three starting forwards for Washington, Nic Dowd, Carl Hagelin and Garnet Hathaway. And, on Wilson’s first shift of the game, Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith went right at him and fought the 6-4, 220-pounder.
Smith got an instigator penalty, and probably lost the fight, but it didn’t matter. He was applauded by his teammates and the fans in attendance for his willingness to fight Wilson. Wilson would get a 10-minute misconduct penalty later in the period, and after he was sent to the locker room, he did not return to the game. The Capitals said Wilson had an upper-body injury.
Unfortunately for the Rangers, Wilson wasn’t the only player who didn’t finish the game. Pavel Buchnevich, who Wilson had punched while he was face down on the ice in Monday’s game, leading to the subsequent melee that saw Wilson fined $5,000 by the NHL on Tuesday, was ejected from the game in the second period for a cross-check to the face of Washington forward Anthony Mantha. Ironically, Buchnevich, who received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct, likely will be suspended from the league, which did not suspend Wilson for his antics Monday.
Ryan Strome, who was also involved in Monday’s altercation, also did not finish the game for the Rangers. After getting into a first-period fight with Lars Eller, Strome was given a tripping minor and a 10-minute misconduct with 12:12 remaining in the game.
All the nastiness was the result of the NHL’s decision not to suspend Wilson after he body slammed Panarin — twice — in the second period of Monday’s game. Panarin, who escaped serious injury in the attack, nevertheless was injured and shut down for the season. The Rangers released a statement Tuesday evening decrying the NHL’s decision, and describing the league’s Director of Player Safety George Parros as "unfit to continue in his position.’’
The Rangers don’t have a natural enforcer on the roster who can answer challenges from the likes of Wilson and other tough guys in the league. That, according to former Rangers captain Mark Messier, may have been a mistake.
Messier, speaking in an interview on ESPN radio, said, "You’ve got to be able to win in the street, and the alley. And I particularly would not have built a team that didn't have answers in this regard.’’
T.J. Oshie, returning to the lineup after missing Wednesday’s game due to the death of his father, had a hat trick for Washington, and Nic Dowd had the other. Alexis Lafreniere and Morgan Barron scored for the Rangers. Barron’s goal was his first in the NHL. The teams combined for 141 minutes in penalties in the game, including 100 in the first period, which featured a total of six fights.
