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Tom Wilson: his hit on Alexandre Carrier turned the series on its head
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Tom Wilson: his hit on Alexandre Carrier turned the series on its head
Credit: Don’t look for the Capitals to stick the captain’s “C” on when Alex Ovechkin leaves the NHL. More than ever, Tom Wilson is proving that he is the heart and soul of the Caps. He’s that player teams hate to face, but who becomes indispensable to his own team. As Pierre-Luc Dubois said after the […]
Don’t look for the Capitals to stick the captain’s “C” on when Alex Ovechkin leaves the NHL.

More than ever, Tom Wilson is proving that he is the heart and soul of the Caps. He’s that player teams hate to face, but who becomes indispensable to his own team.

As Pierre-Luc Dubois said after the game: Wilson is an important leader in Washington.

But hey. Obviously, this morning, Montreal fans aren’t exactly singing his praises because he’s making life very difficult for Habs players.

In fact, no: he’s an absolute game-changer in the playoffs.

Wilson demonstrates two things. First, yes, he’s demonstrating that refereeing is two-tiered in the series(people in the Habs’ dressing room agree with that, anyway), but he’s also demonstrating that the CH has some eating to do before they can dance with the big boys in the playoffs.

And yesterday’s defeat made that clear: the CH is too small. Physically, they’re getting outplayed.

I know the CH mustn’t become that team that takes dirty shots at every turn, but the way the Caps control the rugged game puts the American club above the CH in the playoffs.

And Wilson’s hit on Alexandre Carrier, dirty as it was, is proof of that. The fact that Carrier got up like a man (instead of faker) probably didn’t prompt the referees to crack down.

We’re talking about that one, but we could also be talking about Alex Ovechkin’s hit on Carrier, who had a nasty night’s work last night in terms of staying healthy. Let’s hope he’s okay this morning, but I have a feeling he must be in a bad way.

But it was also the check on Jake Evans or all those little attempts by the Caps that got the CH out of the game. Because no, the Habs weren’t “minutes away from getting back in the game” the way they were playing.

Yes, the referees should have blown the whistle quite a bit more often, but the Capitals have figured out how to have success in the playoffs. And that has the Canadiens on the brink.

Will Martin St-Louis’ club be able to win three games in a row, including two in Washington? The question arises.

Momentum has shifted in the wake of Wilson’s blow. The CH had some momentum, but it was killed off by the Caps’ physical play, whose hit (a pig whose point of contact was the head) on Carrier was the cherry on the sundae.

Actually, no: the cherry on the sundae was this.

And what about Carrier? The Canadiens have to hope that the defenseman, who stabilizes the blue line, will be able to play on Wednesday. Because without him, the club just isn’t the same.

We’ll see when the time comes.

But hey. It’s not enough to remember Wilson’s physical play in a 5-2 setback (including two goals in an empty net) in the Montreal Canadiens’ Game #4.

What else did I notice?

1. Mike Matheson spent 28 minutes on the ice, including more than eight minutes (8:06) shorthanded. Without Carrier for a while, it was clear he was going to play a lot.

Many people like to criticize his defensive mistakes, but without him, the CH’s defensive corps would look like a headless chicken.

2. Seeing Matheson eat up minutes like that means Lane Hutson can flourish offensively. And just yesterday, he masterfully led the power play.

His two assists mean he has five in the playoffs and 65 including the season. 65 is a league record for a rookie defenseman.

His two assists were collected on the power play, which has been going well since Patrik Laine was replaced by Ivan Demidov. The five guys in the first wave are young and can be around for a long time.

Ivan Demidov also picked up two assists and made his first “signature” play of the playoffs. #Wow

Three of the CH’s eight goals since Friday have come from the first power play wave… and Alex Newhook, on Friday, also scored on the power play. Nothing too serious.

That’s positive… and that’s precisely the point François Gagnon made to Martin St-Louis when the latter told reporters he didn’t know what to say to his players after the game.

3. We were talking about playing time earlier: here’s more.

Ivan Demidov played 13:38, which isn’t entirely bad. He was the third least-used forward, ahead of Oliver Kapanen (5:33) and Emil Heineman (8:19).

Defensively, Kaiden Guhle (22:45) and Lane Hutson (21:00) also played a lot. Arber Xhekaj (12:51) and David Savard (14:49… in what may have been his last game at the Bell Centre) took more, with Alex Carrier playing just 13 minutes and 39 seconds.

But it’s clear that the top-4 defensemen really have the coach’s confidence.

4. The CH took just 18 shots on net for the Capitals… nine of which came in the third period. At one point, they only had six shots after 34 minutes of play, which is too few.

How do you score (especially at five-on-five) without shooting?

5. Jakub Dobes didn’t have a bad game. He wasn’t perfect on the three goals given away, but he made some big saves and kept his club in the game.

The defeat was not his fault.

6. Alexandre Carrier… Samuel Montembeault… Kirby Dach… Patrik Laine… no wonder injuries are starting to affect the CH, which has qualified for the playoffs because the club has been relatively healthy.

Hm…


extension

The Habs will enjoy a day off (which will give the club’s Canadiens time to vote?), but we still wonder if guys like Patrik Laine or Samuel Montembeault will be able to skate.

Probably not, but hey.

There will be press conferences at 1 p.m. at the Bell Centre, but it will be a quieter day for the Habs, who need to win their next three games to advance to the next round.

The CH trailed Toronto 3-1 in 2021, but can you believe it in 2025?

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