Shocking scene in Columbus as Tom Wilson scraps with Blue Jackets goaltender
Photo credit: Sportsnet
There was no question that Tom Wilson was a thorn in the side of Elvis Merzlikins last night, as Wilson often is to whomever he crosses paths with, in a thrilling and emotion-packed game between two divisional rivals in last night's Blue Jackets/Capitals game. But was it reciprocal?
The Washington Capitals came into Columbus on a three-game heater. Their goal was to continue their strong play as of late by outmatching a young and inexperienced Blue Jackets squad, while going for the season sweep. Everything was going well for the Capitals halfway through the game, with a 1-0 lead; until things continued to get ugly between the two teams.
Elvis Merzlikins felt that, from the start, Tom Wilson was out to get him when he apparently tried to slew foot him. Obviously, the majority of Caps fans would say otherwise. After the first shift from Wilson, he followed it up with a close call knee on knee where Wilson was crashing the net. Elvis felt that there was intent to injure, which kept Merzlikins on guard for anymore horseplay.
From there, Wilson slashed Merzlikins in the glove after making a glove save, further provoking the 29-year-old netminder. Merzlikins wasn't a saint throughout the game, retaliating with a slash of his own to Wilson while focusing on number 43 every shift he came into the zone.
In overtime, though, it was the final straw for Merzlikins when he was returning to his net after a big save, only to find his goalie stick buried behind Wilson in his net. Upon retrieval, he took a shot to the helmet from Wilson. With tensions high all game, and the countless engagements between the two, Elvis had finally had enough. You can see in the video below, Merzlikins started giving Wilson shots with his blocker.
The cherry on top for the Capitals was their captain, Alex Ovechkin, scoring the game winner in overtime. The goal was set up by Dylan Strome and John Carlson, on the powerplay. After scoring the game-winner and celebrating, the Capitals had some choice words for the Blue Jackets goaltender.
Merzlikins may have stood up for himself and won the battle overall against Tom, but I think it's safe to say Wilson and the Caps won the war while they secured two points and completed the season sweep over the Blue Jackets.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 22 | 730 ANSWERS Shocking scene in Columbus as Tom Wilson scraps with Blue Jackets goaltender Should Tom Wilson be fined or suspended for his involvement in altercation against Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins? | ||
| Yes | 405 | 55.5 % |
| No | 243 | 33.3 % |
| I just thought it was awesome | 82 | 11.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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