Capitals Wilson, Kuznetsov Combine To Open 2022 NHL All-Star Game Scoring

Back in July 2020, Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak tweeted that Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson the best goal scorer in the league. He proved that to open the 2022 NHL All-Star Game.

The Capitals didn’t waste any time to start the 3-on-3 tournament. Right after Evgeny Kuznetsov won the opening draw between the Metropolitan Division and Pacific Division, Kuznetsov made his way up the ice and dished a quick pass to Wilson, who wired a wrister past John Gibson just 14 seconds in to make it 1-0.

It was Wilson’s first career NHL All-Star strike, and he’s already making a case for MVP. Here’s the goal:

#ALLCAPS Tom Wilson scores first in his first shift! pic.twitter.com/ZqVcnUrrY4

— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) February 5, 2022

No. 43 has heard his fair share of “boos” in this All-Star Weekend so far from Vegas and has continued to disappoint the Vegas fans by lighting up the Pacific on his first shift.

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Wilson has been having a great season with 13 goals and 31 points through 41 games with Washington so far. He is on pace for a career-high of 56 points and has been outstanding on the top line with Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin, who he replaced at the All-Star Game following Ovi’s positive COVID-19 test.

The 27-year-old said that at the game, he’d focus on keeping pace with his fellow All-Stars rather than playing a physical style. He also called attending the game an honor and privilege.

“I don’t think the other guys would be too happy about that. There’s a lot of great guys here and I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun and you know they’ll be flying around and making plays and just try and keep up and do my best,” Wilson said Friday.

Wilson also impressed at hte 0222 NHL All-Star Skills Competition, passing the century mark in the hardest shot contest with a 101.1 MPH rocket.