The Noon Number: Big Willy Style

21:06 - Career-high time on ice for Tom Wilson in Tuesday night’s win over Dallas. (Wilson’s previous high-water mark in 423 regular- and post-season games was 20:26 back at the end of January.)

Wilson didn’t find his way onto the score sheet on Tuesday, but certainly made his presence felt elsewhere, putting together one of the better games of his still-young career. Vogs has more:

Playing in his 382nd career game less than 10 days shy of his 24th birthday, Caps right wing Tom Wilson logged a single-game career high of 21:06 in ice time on Tuesday. He also led the Caps with nine hits in the game, and he tied for the team lead in shots on goal (six) and blocked shots (three).

“He was all over the ice,” says Caps coach Barry Trotz of Wilson. “He had physical impact, he had impact on top players like [John] Klingberg and Benn and people like that, he was good defensively, he made big plays, he had chances shorthanded - he was just a factor.

”You talk about [being] hard to play against, different guys have different ways that they can have effect on opponents. Obviously Tom can do that with the physical play, but he doesn’t get enough credit for how he skates and moves around and does things, not only with the physical play. But once you establish that physical element, all of a sudden it’s opening up things for his teammates, and he is getting opportunities. I just thought he was real good [Tuesday] night.”

Wilson has already established career highs in goals (11), assists (20), points (31), shots (108) and penalty minutes (175) this season with nine games to go.

For more on Wilson’s breakout campaign, read up on our recent piece on that very topic.