Tom Wilson earns high praise from Caps teammates after clutch Game 2 - ESPN

WASHINGTON — Tom Wilson would like a word with the official scorers about his blocked shots in the Washington Capitals' 3-1 win in Game 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

«I only had two of them? The guys up top need to pay a little more attention,» said Wilson, after the Capitals evened their Eastern Conference semifinals playoff series at 1-1 Thursday night.

Perhaps it was quality over quantity for Wilson in Game 2. One of his two blocks was a sprawling stop in the first period that took away a Grade-A scoring chance from Hurricanes center Jordan Staal in front of Washington goalie Logan Thompson (27 saves), sparking a roar from the crowd.

«He does everything the right way. We build off it. I think the whole stadium built off it. Big part of why we won tonight,» Thompson said of Wilson.

«He actually said 'thank you' for one of the blocks. I think that was a first this year,» Wilson, a 6-foot-4 winger, responded with Thompson next to him smiling.

Despite what the scoresheet said about his blocked shots, it felt as if Wilson was all over the defensive zone in Game 2 — and the offensive end as well.

He assisted on defenseman John Carlson's power-play goal 1:54 into the third period, the eventual game-winner and the first goal surrendered by the Carolina penalty kill this postseason (19-for-20). Wilson clinched the win with an empty-net goal, his third of the playoffs, with a minute left in regulation.

«Obviously he set the tone,» Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin said. «He's our leader. He's plays smart. He plays physical. Scored a big goal.»

The Capitals needed that effort after their 2-1 overtime loss in Game 1 on Tuesday night.

«Game 1 wasn't good enough. We knew that. It was in our headspace for the last couple of days.