Tom Wilson is pretty good at getting under his opponents' skins, but Bruins forward Chris Wagner has a pretty good retort.
There's not a player on skates Wilson won't try to go after, as the Washington Capitals forward is one of the toughest players in the NHL. On Wednesday night, in Game 3 of the Bruins-Capitals Stanley Cup playoff first-round series, Wilson and Wagner had a little jawing match.
A day later, Wagner went on 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Zolak and Bertrand Show" and more or less gave the entire lowdown on what was said between the two.
"I just told him to get mad because that's usually what I say to people," Wagner said Thursday. "Every time you touch him and stuff, he turns around like he's going to kill you. He's like, 'I'm about to beat your face in,' and I'm like, 'You can if you want, but I'm not gonna do anything.' "
Apparently, Wilson's tough-guy bravado is slightly comical to Wagner.
"That was like the third line. I go, 'What do you think? You're untouchable?' He goes, 'You want me to beat you up?' I'm like, 'Uh, you can,' and I was just like, 'You should just get mad,' and he's like, 'I'd love to beat that face in.' I'm like, 'OK, man. Nice,'" Wagner said.
The Bruins winger, at a certain point, couldn't help but laugh, not only at the situation but because of how he drew on interactions from his friends to chirp one of the NHL's toughest tough guys.
"That's why I started laughing," he added. "All my buddies always say that to each other. If someone's just getting mad about something stupid, it's just like 'Yeah, you should get mad, though.' And then I naturally just start laughing because I think it's funny. He actually gets mad if you, like, skate by the goalie and he'll stick you or something, and you're like, 'All right, we get your whole act, like, whatever, it is what it is.'"
Sounds about right.
Pressed on whether Wilson is a bit of a pretty boy -- in addition to a tough guy -- Wagner shied away from really pushing Wilson's buttons.
"He's a good-looking dude, I think," Wagner said. "He is really tough, though, so I dunno."
Perhaps the two will continue their chat Friday night in Game 4 of the first-round series which can be seen on NESN with coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET.
