CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Tom Wilson's latest cheap shot has the Penguins talking, if not all-out squawking.
The Capitals' notorious head-hunting right winger struck again Sunday in a preseason game at St. Louis, leveling the Blues' Oskar Sundqvist -- a center the Penguins sent there as part of the original Ryan Reaves trade -- and was issued a match penalty. Soon thereafter, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced that he'd be offered an in-person hearing for his latest in a string of similar on-ice assaults.
Two of those came at the Penguins' expense, of course, in the most recent playoffs, one that felled Brian Dumoulin, the other -- and by far the more prominent -- that concussed and fractured the jaw of Zach Aston-Reese.
Aston-Reese acknowledged being moved upon seeing Wilson's hit on Sundqvist, since Sundqvist had befriended him during their time together in Wilkes-Barre, but otherwise he steered clear of anything remotely controversial when I asked about it:
The rest didn't say much more, at least not on the record. Mike Sullivan flatly declined comment on Wilson, and Sidney Crosby ... at least came close to letting it out.
"We've talked about a lot of that with him," Crosby said, referring to head shots and Wilson. "He still chooses to make those hits, and I'm sure the league's well aware of that. It's not the first time we've talked about a hit that he made, especially when you're talking about us. So, yeah, for whatever reason, he still decides to do that."
Asked if he'd like to see the league take significant action this time, Crosby replied, "I mean, I just don't know how many more opportunities you need. But obviously, the point hasn't been made yet."
The Penguins' season opener is Thursday against the Capitals at PPG Paints Arena. The Capitals open the previous night in Washington against the Bruins. The NHL set no timetable for Wilson's hearing, though it would appear unimaginable he won't be suspended for both those games, at the very least.