The NHL regular season match, in which the New York Rangers hosted the Washington Capitals, was rich in events, but they all faded into the background after the scandalous episode, which included guest striker Tom Wilson and Russian forwards of the hosts Pavel Buchnevich and Artemy Panarin ...
The incident occurred in the 28th minute at the gates of the capital team.
After another attack, Buchnevich found himself on the ice, and Wilson punched him in the head several times.
The rest of the players drove up to them, a scuffle ensued, during which Panarin tried to drag the Canadian away from his teammate and jumped on his back.
In response, he began to beat the Russian, from whom the helmet flew off, and then the Canadian grabbed Artemy by the hair and knocked him down, continuing to strike.
Fortunately, when he fell, he hit his shoulder, not his head.
After what happened, Panarin was unable to continue the match.
According to American media reports, he risks missing the end of the season.
The head coach of the New York team, David Quinn, said that the ward was injured in his lower body, but he feels fine.
At a post-match press conference, he strongly condemned Wilson's actions.
“There are lines in this game that cannot be crossed.
For me, this is just a show of disrespect for the whole game.
We have a star player in our squad who, at this moment, could have received a really serious injury, - the official website of the NHL quotes Quinn.
“This happens to Wilson all the time.
And this is absolutely unnecessary.
You all saw what happened.
I repeat that this is just zero respect for the game, hockey players and all participants. "
Rangers striker Mika Zibanejad was in solidarity with the expert's opinion.
“In my opinion, you need to respect the game and the players more.
To be honest, I don't even know where to start.
That's just terrible.
No respect.
But I don’t even know why I’m surprised, ”added the hockey player.
To the surprise of many, Panarin and Buchnevich were sent off by two minutes as a result of the clash.
The Canadian, on the other hand, received a double minor and 10-minute disciplinary penalty for his actions.
After serving his sentence, he returned to the ice and even threw the last puck into the Rangers goal.
At the same time, having gone into the penalty box, the player continued to provoke the opponent's bench, smiled and clearly did not show regret about what had happened.
Subsequently, it became known that he was fined $ 5,000 for the blow of Buchnevich.
Washington also behaved very controversially.
After the match, a joke post appeared on their Twitter page with a photo of Wilson and the caption "We choose violence."
Half an hour later, he was removed, but many managed to note how incorrectly the team's press service behaved in this situation.
The head coach of the Capitals, Peter Laviolette, also sided with the Canadian.
“It seemed to me that this is nonsense.
Contact game.
At the gate, initially something like this was happening, some kind of crush.
Several players have joined this brawl.
This happens a lot, ”Laviolette commented on the episode.
However, the incident could have ended much more deplorably, given that at the time of the fall, Panarin was not wearing a helmet.
That is why fans, experts and journalists, including those from North America, have sharply criticized Wilson's actions.
They called not only to punish the instigator of the fight, but also to check his mental health.
Thus, journalist Rick Carpinello criticized the match referees and the player safety department, which, in his opinion, is run by "cowardly and incompetent people."
According to him, the judges gave the Canadian too lenient punishment, and officials did not react in any way to the "act of pure violence."
Columnist Larry Brooks likened Wilson's behavior to the street showdown of the 70s.
He noted that the further reputation of the league will depend on the decision of the NHL leadership on this episode.
In his opinion, the violator should be disqualified until the end of the season, including the playoffs.
“Look and see how close the NHL was to dying on the ice… It wasn't just a low-grade league-worthy act from an infamous bounty hunter who was disqualified five times in the NHL.
It was scary how close his first blow, when he grabbed Panarin by the hair, was to disastrous consequences.
If the Russian with all his might hit the ice not with his shoulder, but with his head, the NHL would have to investigate the death, ”Brooks complained.
Journalist Ken Campbell also called for decisive action against the forward.
“Lather, rinse, repeat.
The NHL needs players like Tom Wilson to protect people from the likes of Tom Wilson.
The league is obliged to at least remove him from the remaining four matches of the regular season and playoffs.
For a long time, it was necessary to stop letting this guy get away with everything, ”Campbell is sure.
In turn, Greg Wyshinsky recalled that this is not the first time that Wilson has been noted for extremely rude actions against rivals: "He is a scandal in case of scandals, because he has a long list of conflicts with the players' safety department, including this season."
So, in March 2021, Boston Bruins defender Brandon Carlo was hospitalized after being hit in the head by a striker.
Initially, the judges did not see rudeness in his actions, but then he was disqualified for seven matches.
And in September 2018, during the match with St. Louis, the Canadian drove into Oscar Sudqvist at high speed, as a result of which he received a blow with his shoulder in the head and for a long time could not recover and get off the ice.
For that move, Wilson was punished with a 20-match suspension.
In the reporting match, the Rangers at the time of the scuffle were leading with a score of 3: 2, but the incident and the loss of one of the leaders negatively affected the team's mood.
Hockey players of "Washington", on the contrary, felt confident and brought the game to victory - 6: 3.
The first Russian tough guy in the NHL, Andrei Nazarov, suggested that Wilson was only following the instructions of the head coach, famous for his willingness to get what he wanted at any cost.
“I’m tired of repeating that hockey fights are part of the business, they sell well in the NHL.
I would not be surprised if sales of T-shirts with the Wilson surname increase significantly.
There is nothing surprising in Tom's behavior, just look at the final score on the scoreboard, "- quotes Nazarov's words" Championship ".