Tom Wilson and Logan Thompson shared the podium together for the second time this postseason after the players led the Washington Capitals to a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2.
Wilson assisted on the team’s game-winning goal by John Carlson and scored an empty netter himself while Thompson stopped 28 of 29 Hurricanes shots (.964 save percentage) to improve his postseason record to 5-2.
Seemingly polar opposites of each other personality-wise, Wilson and Thompson first showed off their unique dynamic when they were paired together after their emphatic Game 4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. That night, Wilson leveled Alexandre Carrier, leading to four consecutive goals by the Capitals in the third period and giving the team a 3-1 series lead.
In the post-game press conference, the Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson asked the Capitals’ starting netminder to speak about Wilson’s game-changing ability, leading to the first magic between the two (it starts at 3:11 of the above video).
“Logan, sorry to make you talk about the guy next to you, but how important is Tom to what you guys do and how big was that hit and everything?” Johnson asked.
“I don’t want to make his head any bigger,” Thompson said, laughing. “He’s been huge for us. He’s heart and soul of this organization, right? When he’s making plays, big hits, we feed off that. Um, especially in our home rink, I think the whole building feeds off that stuff. He’s a huge part of our team. Yeah, no, we love him.”
Then Thompson looked over at Wilson and made a motion as if teammate’s head was swelling up like a balloon due to all his kind words.
“That’s it?” Wilson replied incredulously, thinking he deserved more praise.
Nearly two weeks later, the two players were back up at the podium after defeating the Hurricanes. And it was like déjà vu all over again.
RMNB’s Katie Adler began the press conference by playing off Johnson’s question before. “Logan, I hate to start off by asking you about the guy next to you, but what did you see from Tom Wilson tonight?
“Oh god,” Thompson replied in mock-terror. “Yeah, he was good. I feel like I’m always talking about this guy. Yeah, like I said before. 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 and gotta keep this thing going.”
The very next question was for Wilson: “How do you feel about LT?
“He actually said thank you for one of the blocks,” Wilson said, smiling. “That was a first for the entire season, I think. But, yeah. He’s our wall back there. He’s calm, he just keeps us in every single game. It’s nice having a goalie that’s gonna give it his all. He’s been our MVP all year and he’s playing great. I gotta stay on top of him and make sure that I keep him on his toes around the rink and make sure he gets too comfy but he’s been awesome for us.”
Thompson replied, “That’s… that’s it?”
The two players, who have been pranking each other all season long, are both playing the role of hero for the Capitals on the ice, but are practically foils of each other away from the rink. Wilson, ever so sure about himself, commands leadership and attention, while Thompson shirks the spotlight and has a certain public-facing awkwardness that’s hard to articulate other than he’s the quintessential goalie.
Wilson and Thompson’s dynamic also appears to be played off by their Capitals’ teammates. When forward Brandon Duhaime (another fellow Capitals prankster) was asked about Wilson’s impact in Game 2, he replied, “He does it all. We’ve been praising him all year. I think his head’s getting a little big, but yeah.”
