Tom Wilson scores in first game back from suspension

Tom Wilson is back to being Tom Wilson.

The Washington Capitals power forward returned to the lineup Tuesday evening against the Minnesota Wild after having his 20-game suspension reduced to 14 games. Wilson has already served 16 games of his suspension for an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist in the preseason.

Arbitrator Shyam Das allowed Wilson to return Tuesday and recoup $378,049 US of the $1.26 million he initially forfeited as part of the suspension.

Wilson made an immediate impact for the Washington Capitals, scoring a controversial goal in the second period that saw him pick up a minor penalty on the exact same play.

It’s quite a bizarre sequence. Wilson scored a good goal and was assessed a two-minute penalty for goaltender interference right after. It does look like he was pushed into goaltender Devan Dubnyk by blueliner Ryan Suter, but the refs still decided to hand Wilson a penalty.

It’s no surprise Wilson was front-and-center in some type of controversy. Through 391 career NHL games, the power forward has racked up 806 PIM to go with 35 goals.

While he’s disliked by many across the NHL, the Capitals are likely very happy to have one of their better forwards back in the lineup.