Tom Wilson Faces Punishment

Any hockey fan would have been able to tell you, going into this series, that the Eastern Conference semifinals series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals was going to be a nasty, physical series. Monday night, in game three of the series in Pittsburgh, the series took on a new life. Tom Wilson, the Capitals forward, has been known for being a bit of an adgitator. Tuesday night, he took it to a whole different level.

Here's a video of what happened:


No penalty was called on the hit and Zach Aston-Reese missed the rest of the game.

It was revealed earlier today that Aston-Reese has a concussion and a broken jaw, which will cause him to miss the rest of the playoffs. Tom Wilson had a hearing with the Department of Player Safety, which resulted in a three game suspension for Wilson for the actions.

Did the punishment fit the crime?

Yes and no. It is indeed the type of hit that the NHL is trying to get rid of. At first look it seemed like Wilson caught Aston-Reese in the shoulder, which is probably why the refs never made a call on the hit. The blood on the ice after the play was a better indication of what happened, as was the video replay showed both on TV and on the video scoreboard over center ice. Once fans in the arena saw what happened, they really got on Wilson's case over it, and rightfully so.

Now comes into question how long the suspension should have been. Some fans are possibly calling for Wilson to be out as long as Aston-Reese, which is going a bit far. There's no doubt in anybody's mind that Wilson should serve a suspension for the hit, there really is no room in the game for a play such as that. I think three games might have been a little light. There's no way to tell how deep this series is going to go, as Washington has a 2-1 lead in the series heading into game four on Thursday in Pittsburgh. The rest of the series is easy for how long this suspension should go. If the series does end in five, then it should carry over into the next round, but if it goes the distance and the Caps move on, he should be eligible to come back at the start of the next round.

One things for sure, every time that Tom Wilson comes back to Pittsburgh, he will be booed every time he touches the puck. For his actions Tuesday night, Wilson has become a marked man.