Wilson starts suspension, Capitals 'going to miss him a lot'

WASHINGTON -- Tom Wilson served the first game of his 20-game suspension when the Washington Capitals defeated the Boston Bruins 7-0 in their season opener Wednesday.

Washington coach Todd Reirden said he expects the 24-year-old forward to appeal the suspension he received from the NHL Department of Player Safety earlier Wednesday for an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist during the final preseason game Sunday.
Wilson has 48 hours to appeal to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. If Wilson is unsatisfied with Commissioner Bettman's ruling, he can appeal to a neutral arbitrator. If the suspension is upheld, Wilson would be eligible to return Nov. 21 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
"I hope it's not going to be 19 more games]," Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin said. "I think he's going to be appealing and maybe it's going to be less."
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Wilson was permitted to participate in the pregame Stanley Cup-banner raising ceremony. He skated onto the ice in full uniform and stood alongside his teammates on the blue line.
"When I found out (about the suspension), I texted him right away," forward T.J. Oshie said. "When I saw him here I went and gave him a hug. I said, 'I'm sorry.' It's unfortunate. He wants to be out here with us. ... We're going to miss him a lot out there, but he'll be around."
Last season, Wilson set NHL career highs with 14 goals, 21 assists and 35 points in 78 games. Washington's first-round pick (No. 16) in the 2012 NHL Draft also established NHL career highs with five goals, 10 assists and 15 points in 21 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help the Capitals win the Stanley Cup for the first time.

After beginning his career as mostly a fourth-line player, Wilson has developed into a steady penalty killer and showed last season he was capable of playing on the top line with Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Wilson was effective using his size (6-foot-4, 218 pounds) and speed to create room for his linemates, and this offseason he signed a six-year, $31 million contract (average annual value of $5.16 million).
But he's been suspended four times in his past 105 games, including the preseason and playoffs.
"I know he's younger, but he's kind of the big brother out there," Oshie said. "He protects guys. I think other teams, when you've got a guy like that -- (Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan) Reaves is a pretty big heavyweight, for example -- and when you've got a guy like Reaves on the team, guys don't really run around and take advantage of people. ... So, we'll have other guys step up, but Tom's such a big part of our team."
Brett Connolly played with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov against Boston. Connolly, who didn't have a point Wednesday, had an NHL career-high 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) playing mostly on the third line last season.
"Last year during the playoffs, we had guys get hurt and a different guy steps up," center Nicklas Backstrom said. "Even if [Wilson's] out now, it gives other guys chances to step up. That's what we've been doing good in the past year and we're going to continue doing this now. But, obviously, we're going to miss him. He's a great player."