Apr 21, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) skates with the puck behind Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) in the third period in game one of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Expect More Fireworks Between Capitals and Canadiens

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Nick Horwat | Last updated Apr 27, 2025 1:25 PM ET

Tempers boiled over quite a bit in Game 3 between the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens, highlighted by an end-of-period brawl that caught the attention of the league. Capitals forward Tom Wilson and Canadiens forward Josh Anderson were each fined $5,000 for a fight that made its way onto the Capitals bench.

The benches had cleared so teams could head to their locker rooms for intermission, but a few scrums broke out as tensions started to flair between the Capitals and Canadiens. There wasn’t a ton of carry-over into the final period of Game 3, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see fireworks return for Game 4.

Following the Capitals morning skate, Wilson said that seeing the same team multiple games in a row usually adds to the intensity.

“I think there’s always a little bit of carryover in the playoffs,” Wilson said. “There’s always those emotions. When you play a team over and over it can get that way. It can become a rivalry.”

“Emotions get high. They’re playing hard. We’re playing hard. It’s been fun hockey so far, and we’ll keep it going.”

Tom Wilson ahead of tonight’s fourth installment in Washington’s #StanleyCup Playoffs series with Montreal.#CapsHabs | @MedStarHealth pic.twitter.com/D8eOqEgOWF
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 27, 2025

Wilson and Anderson have had run-ins before throughout their hockey careers, but this one escalated to new heights. Wilson chalked the bench brawl up to the high competitive level within both players.

“Obviously, emotions get high,” Wilson said. “It’s playoff hockey. He’s a competitor, I’m a competitor. I think that’s the game of hockey. That’s why everybody loves it, right? It can be a little crazy at times.”

As the scrums were finally being separated in Game 3, cameras caught Wilson mocking a Canadiens player by doing his best impression of a crying baby. Wilson didn’t reveal exactly who he was taking a shot at, but he may try and keep himself a bit more composed moving forward.

“It was for one guy, I wasn’t doing it their whole team,” Wilson said. “I’m not going to say who, but he knows who it was. Obviously, the camera was right on me. I guess I should probably just shut up sometimes.”

Game 4 is going to be an intense battle as both the Capitals and Canadiens look to change the completion of the series.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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