Tom Wilson closes out game against Oilers with two empty-net goals in front of Team Canada execs: ‘He’s a very key piece of this puzzle that we have’
Tom Wilson was the star of the show as the Washington Capitals put the finishing touches on a 7-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night. The burly winger scored two empty-net goals within 28 seconds to shut down any attempt at an Oilers comeback, delivering the Capitals their first winning streak in over three weeks.
Wilson put on display his clutch ability in end-of-game situations right in front of Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong, who was in town to watch several Canadian Olympic hopefuls, including Wilson, Logan Thompson, Zach Hyman, Jakob Chychrun, Evan Bouchard, and the already locked-in Connor McDavid.
The 31-year-old forward scored his first empty-netter with 1:01 remaining in regulation, putting a feed from Connor McMichael into the yawning cage. Wilson grabbed his second with just 33 seconds left on the clock, blocking a Bouchard shot at the point to spring himself on a breakaway.
The two goals were Wilson’s team-leading 10th and 11th of the season, and he is now three points ahead (20) of Dylan Strome (17) for the overall scoring lead on the Capitals.
“Yeah, he’s a special player,” Capitals forward Ryan Leonard said postgame on TNT. “We like to call him the bus driver of the team, and it’s for a reason. Every single night, he gives it 110 percent every single shift. You saw it with the last-minute, minute-and-a-half blocking shots and scoring big goals for us in a timely manner. He’s a very key piece of this puzzle that we have.”
Wilson also led the way physically for the Capitals, adding four hits to his season total. He ranks first on the Caps in hits with 54 and 21st among all NHL forwards.
Wilson’s two goals put him on pace to score 45 times over a full 82-game slate, which would be 12 better than the career high of 33 he set last season. No Capitals player other than Alex Ovechkin has scored 40 goals in a season since Alexander Semin had 40 during the 2009-10 campaign.
The goals also saw Wilson leap over Bobby Carpenter (188) for 10th all-time on the Capitals’ goal-scoring list with 190 career goals. If he keeps his current pace up, he’ll easily surpass TJ Oshie (192), Dave Christian (193), Bengt-Ake Gustafsson (195), and Semin (197) for sixth on the all-time list.
Capitals all-time franchise leaders in goals
Player
GP
G
Alex Ovechkin
1,511
904
Peter Bondra
961
472
Mike Gartner
758
397
Nicklas Backstrom
1,105
271
Mike Ridley
588
218
Alexander Semin
469
197
Bengt-Ake Gustafsson
629
195
Dave Christian
504
193
TJ Oshie
567
192
Tom Wilson
855
190
Wilson’s overall strong showing in front of Armstrong should help his case to make Team Canada as the nation looks to assemble its roster for the 2026 Olympics. Wilson was one of 42 players invited to Canada’s National Teams Orientation Camp this summer and has spoken publicly about how much he wants the chance to play in Italy.
“When you’re a kid, it’s the Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold medal, that’s everything — that’s your biggest and wildest dreams,” he said in September.
Canada will have to submit their final 25-man roster by the set December 31 deadline. The men’s ice hockey tournament will start with preliminary games on February 11, with the gold-medal game scheduled for February 22.
