Tom Wilson knew there was a line he couldn't cross in Olympic fight if he wanted to avoid suspension: 'I just wanted to make sure not to take it too far'

""Hockey is an emotional game," Wilson told the New York Post's Mollie Walker. "It's a competitive game. And when you come together with a big guy, you kind of have to make the decision quickly, and the gloves came off.""

""Obviously, when there's a hit like that made, it gets you on your toes a little bit, and then I ended up on a shift with him, and we got tangled up, and I obviously knew it was the same guy," Wilson told TSN. "I think it was more just him understanding that there's going to be an answer, we're going to stick up for our teammates. I didn't know that necessarily it was going to be a fight, but it turned into that pretty quickly, and then obviously more of just kind of a wrestling match and a melee, kind of chaos. Once I got out of the pile and he kind of ended up on the bottom, I just wanted to make sure not to take it too far, obviously thinking about the more important hockey coming up. I think they got the message that we were going to stick together as a country. We'll put it in the rear view now and focus on the quarters.""

Tom Wilson engaged in a fight with French defenseman Pierre Crinon after Crinon elbowed Nathan MacKinnon in the head. Both players were ejected and Wilson recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick. Wilson described hockey as emotional and competitive, saying decisions can come quickly and the gloves came off. He said the confrontation was partly retribution and partly to send the message that Canada will stick up for its teammates. Wilson intentionally restrained himself to avoid jeopardizing Canada’s Olympic run. He characterized the incident as chaotic and said the team will now focus on the quarterfinals.

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