Caps rave about Wilson's G2 spark: 'Set the tone'

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Tom Wilson would like a word with the official scorers about his blocked shots in the Washington Capitals' 3-1 win in Game 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

"I only had two of them? The guys up top need to pay a little more attention," said Wilson, after the Capitals evened their Eastern Conference playoff series at 1-1 in D.C. on Thursday night.

Perhaps it was quality over quantity for Wilson in Game 2. One of his two blocks was a sprawling stop by the 6-foot-4 winger in the first period, one that took away a Grade-A scoring chance from Hurricanes center Jordan Staal in front of Washington goalie Logan Thompson (27 saves), sparking a roar from the crowd.

"He does everything the right way. We build off it. I think the whole stadium built off it. Big part of why we won tonight," said Thompson of Wilson at their postgame press conference.

"He actually said 'thank you' for one of the blocks. I think that was a first this year," responded Wilson, as Thompson smiled next to him.

Despite what the scoresheet said about his blocked shots, it felt like Wilson was all over the defensive zone in Game 2 -- and the offensive end as well.

He assisted on defenseman John Carlson's power-play goal 1:54 into the third period, the eventual game-winner and the first goal surrendered by the Carolina penalty kill this postseason (19-for-20). Wilson clinched the win with an empty net goal, his third of the playoffs, with a minute left in regulation.

"Obviously he set the tone," said Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin. "He's our leader. He's plays smart. He plays physical. Scored a big goal."

The Capitals needed that effort after their 2-1 overtime loss in Game 1 on Tuesday night.

"Game 1 wasn't good enough. We knew that. It was in our headspace for the last couple of days. It's not a good feeling when you go home after Game 1 and you weren't happy with your effort," said Wilson. "As a group, we have the ability to look at each other and demand more. To know that the guy next to you is going to show up and give it everything is just a really cool thing."

Wilson was one of the most vocally dissatisfied players after the defeat. His line with Connor McMichael and Pierre-Luc Dubois was absolutely dominated by Carolina in Game 1, with getting out-chanced 11-1 and finishing with a minus-21 in shot attempts.

Coach Spencer Carbery said that Wilson's improvement game-over-game, and that of his leadership group as a whole, inspired the team.

"When we don't perform to our standard, it, for lack of a better term, pisses them off. It doesn't sit well with them. Then they take concrete actions to fix it and to make sure it doesn't look like that again," said the coach. "And so that's exactly what you saw over the last 48 hours from Willie."

Carbery said Wilson is the first player to come to him and ask how the Capitals can be better situationally after a disappointing loss like Game 1.

"It's easy for some people to get uncomfortable with losing and they turn the page the next day. It's a whole other thing to do something about it in your preparation and then go out and meet the charge," said the coach. "He was right there tonight, dragging guys into the fight."

Game 3 of the series is in Raleigh on Saturday night.