Fansided

Tom Wilson gets leveled by Ryan Reaves, Twitter erupts with “karma” tweets

ByBruin Belisle|
LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 4: Tom Wilson #43 of the Washington Capitals lays on the ices after a hit by Ryan Reaves #75 of the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period of a game at T-Mobile Arena on December 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 4: Tom Wilson #43 of the Washington Capitals lays on the ices after a hit by Ryan Reaves #75 of the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period of a game at T-Mobile Arena on December 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images)

Tom Wilson got blown up by Ryan Reaves in Tuesday night’s Stanley Cup final rematch. Obviously, Twitter had a field day with it.

Love him or

hate him

despise him with every ounce of your being, Tom Wilson has been a hot topic of conversation early in this hockey season. Having already landed multiple controversial hits, Wilson has moved the needle multiple times already.

In Tuesday night’s Cup final rematch, Ryan Reaves delivered a blow that Wilson is usually on the giving end of. Needless to say, Twitter reacted exactly as you’d expect – Some Wilson supporters were upset but the rest of the hockey world deemed the hit to be “karma.”

This hit came only two days after Wilson hit New Jersey Devils forward Brett Seney in a similar fashion. Wilson received an interference penalty and a game misconduct for the hit, which is what Reaves got for his hit on Wilson on Tuesday. Reaves will not receive any supplemental discipline for the hit.

A few seconds late? Probably. But this hit wasn’t anything we haven’t seen from Tom Wilson in the past. Naturally, hockey Twitter blew up on Wilson, about 90% of the tweets saying the play was karmic justice.

https://twitter.com/RDecobellis77/status/1070191439513042945

Wilson’s exact quote after laying a similar hit on Vegas Golden Knights forward Jonathon Marchessault last May was “He’d probably say he shouldn’t admire his pass. I’m just finishing my check.” Reaves himself had that in mind when he weighed in on the hit:

The rest of this quote from The Athletic had Reaves explain his reasoning on why he threw the hit: “I thought he actually saw me. It looked like he took a peek, and if he sees me I know he’s going to try to lay me out, and I’m not going to let that happen.”

It’s clear that these two don’t like each other. Chances are, this hit is going to set back any chance of them building a friendly relationship anytime soon. This hit wasn’t the first (or second) thrown in the game by Reaves, who had a clear target for the night.

Reaves was after Wilson all night. He chased him down throughout most of the game and threw some big hits on Wilson when he could, including two on the same shift earlier in the game. Absolutely no one was upset about these:

The Capitals announced that Tom Wilson suffered an “upper-body injury” (likely a concussion) from his head hitting the ice after the hit. The seriousness of the injury isn’t yet known but regardless of how you feel about Wilson, no one should actually want to see a player get hurt.

Some fans on Twitter went as far as to blame Wilson for the injury, saying if he had his chin strap tightened properly his helmet wouldn’t have come off. This is a bit of a stretch, but it goes to show you how the world feels about this guy.

Still, whether this is right or wrong, when you play on the edge, don’t expect hockey twitter to feel bad for you when this happens. There’s a lesson to be learned here. Let’s hope Tom Wilson thinks twice the next time he gets the opportunity to throw a borderline-illegal hit.

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