WASHINGTON -- If one didn’t know any better, one might be tempted to think the Rangers opening the 2021-22 NHL season in Washington against the Capitals – and Tom Wilson – might not have been a random thing.
A cynic might think the league (and perhaps its national television partners) may have seen value in pitting the Rangers in their season opener against the player who assaulted their star forward, Artemi Panarin, in that late season game that ultimately started the dominoes falling on a revamping of the Blueshirts’ organizational structure and roster makeup.
But with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, deputy commissioner Bill Daly and George Parros, the head of the league’s Department of Player Safety in the house, Wilson was on his best behavior and Alex Ovechkin stole the show with two goals that lifted him into fifth place on the NHL’s all-time goalscorers list and powered the Capitals to a 5-1 win Wednesday at Capital One Arena in Gerard Gallant’s first game as the Blueshirts coach.