At his best, Tom Wilson is a rare, nearly unique hockey player, an intimidating offensively skilled old school power forward and a speedy, defensively responsible checker that hits as hard as anyone in the League rolled into a massive 6’4”, 220-pound frame.
At his worst... we needn’t go into detail there, you know what Tom Wilson is at his worst.
And what the Caps are getting from Wilson right now, well, it ain’t his best, which might seem like an odd thing to say about a guy who has provided more goals above replacement (GAR) this season than any other Caps forward:
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But the fact is that for a little while now, the Caps have been below 50 percent in expected goals (xGF%) with Wilson on the ice at five-on-five, bottoming out in early March (although thankfully rebounding now):
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Unsurprisingly, actual goals-for percentage has followed suit and dipped accordingly - prior to February 2, Wilson’s on-ice xGF% for the season was 49.