Tom Wilson ejected for boarding Valmanis as Capitals beat Panthers 4-3

Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson was thrown out of Saturday’s game against the Florida Panthers after a hit from behind sent Florida’s Sandis Valmanis headfirst into the boards, The Associated Press reported. The Capitals rallied to win 4-3.

Wilson’s hit caught Valmanis in the back and knocked him into the spot where the boards meet the glass. Valmanis did not return. Wilson was given a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct.

Florida’s Brady Tkachuk scored on the extended power play that followed, his second goal of the first period, to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead.

Washington came back in the second period. Alex Tuch tied the game with his 11th goal of the season, and Aliaksei Protas finished a passing play from Ryan Leonard and Pierre-Luc Dubois to put the Capitals ahead. Jack St. Ivany scored his first NHL goal in the first period and Dubois added a goal in the third. Sam Bennett pulled Florida within one with 46.6 seconds left.

Neither team gave an update on Valmanis’s condition in the game report, and the NHL had not announced whether Wilson faces supplementary discipline. Wilson, a 32-year-old power forward, has been suspended by the league several times earlier in his career for hits on opponents.

Wilson’s name was among the most-searched terms in Canada on Sunday morning, according to Google Trends.