When the Ian Cole from the Colorado Avalanche leveled Eugene Kuznetsov from the Washington Capitals, Tom Wilson from the Caps took matters into his own hands that ended with an old-school hockey fight.
The Caps held on to beat the Avalanche 4-3 in overtime. The Washington Capitals (20-18-6) recently turned around a seven-game losing streak and won consecutive games.
The Avalanche (22-22-10) are on a crowded playoff bubble with six other teams in the Western Conference.
Hockey Fight: Cole vs. Wilson
This NHL season started out with a wild line brawl between the Predators and Jets that looked like something out of the Paul Newman film “Slapshot”. The Colorado Avalanche had a couple of previous hockey fights with the Detroit Red Wings. Things escalated so much that even the goalies had to be restrained from throwing down.
It wasn’t much a contest. Wilson destroyed Cole. It all began when the Avalanche’s Cole took out forward Evgeny Kuznetsov with a cheap shot.
With 8:42 remaining in the third period, Cole and Wilson dropped the gloves to settle the score. Wilson unleashed a flurry of right-handed punches. After absorbing a bakers dozen of punches, Cole’s helmet fell off and Wilson’s knuckles began to bleed. Unable to get his own right arm free, Cole struggled to retaliate with any counterpunches. Wilson landed a few more jabs before the officials stepped in to end the one-sided fight.
On Deck for the Caps
The high-scoring Capitals recently halted a seven-game losing streak. They slipped to the #6 seed overall in the West. With the overtime-win against the Avalanche, the Caps won three out of the last four games.
The Caps have a pair of home games against not-so-good teams. They have the Florida Panthers (22-22-8) and LA Kings (23-26-5) coming to town. Then they embark on an arduous six-game road trip that takes them out west for three games. In California, the Caps play one of the best teams in the Western Conference with a game against the Sharks in San Jose. Then they get a break with two games in SoCal against basement dwellers. The Caps play the LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks, before heading back east.
According to the South Point Casino and Sports Book in Las Vegas, the Washington Capitals are 15/1 odds to win the Stanley Cup.