CALGARY — Rasmus Andersson and Tom Wilson would be a heck of a lot of fun to play charades with. That much was clear late Tuesday night in an entertaining game in which the two wound up stealing the show. With five minutes to go in a 2-1 game being led by the Capitals, there they were, furiously jawing at each other in the penalty box for the entirety of a TV timeout.
Both had just been whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct, essentially for mocking one another in animated fashion. For those watching on TV, or the Dome’s Jumbotron, the two may as well have been wearing the black and white stripes of a mime, as audio wasn’t required for the audience to follow along. The two fiery competitors helped us piece their sentiments together with their body movements.
It started minutes after Wilson drew a penalty by laying on the ice, grasping his side following a cross-check from Adam Klapka. Hockey players don’t like opponents who milk the moment, and seconds after the whistle was blown on a subsequent Connor McMichael trip, Andersson immediately started mocking Wilson right in front of him. Clutching his side and wincing in pain, over-and-over again, Andersson clearly touched a nerve.
Repeating the motion again in the box, Wilson stood and clearly responded by suggesting Andersson’s large cranium resembled that of a bobblehead. Removing his own helmet at one point, Wilson stretched the ear flaps apart to emphasize the point. And on it went.
The TV cameras, and crowd, ate it.
