Capitals' Tom Wilson scores twice with broken facial bone after being hit by puck

Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson had major swelling in his cheek Saturday after taking a puck off the face.

Not only did he return to the game, he scored two goals, including the game-winner, as the Capitals defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2.

And it turns out the injury was a little worse. Wilson said Wednesday that he has a small break in one of his sinus cavity bones and has been told by doctors to wear a facial shield for about four weeks.

He hopes to play in the Capitals' next game on Thursday while wearing a bubble shield because he didn't like the feel of a full cage.

"It's nothing major, but it's something that you want to make sure you don't get hit again in the same spot," he told reporters.

Wilson's play Saturday was just the latest example of how the Capitals have gone 6-2-1 since red-hot scorer and captain Alex Ovechkin went out with a fractured fibula last month, pausing his chase of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record.

The puck to Wilson's face happened with about eight minutes left in the first period. He returned to the ice with a little more than a minute left in the first.

"My dad always told me if you're good to play, you play," Wilson told Sportsnet after the game. "I went to the room and got checked out and felt good enough to get back out there."

The Capitals were down 2-0 at that point, but Pierre-Luc Dubois scored 33 seconds into the second period and Wilson scored at 7:10 and 11:48 of the third period to put Washington ahead 3-2. Dylan Strome made it 4-2 with a power-play goal.

Wilson said Wednesday that he was sore for several days, especially after the adrenaline rush wore off. His face ballooned even more after he arrived home, but the swelling has gone down significantly.

"My wife and family are a little bit, 'What the heck are you doing going back into the game?' '' he said.

Teammate Jakob Chychrun has apologized for taking the shot that hit Wilson.

"I'm waiting to see if it's dinner or a bottle of wine," Wilson said. "No, he can rip the puck, that's for sure. … I told him to just keep shooting the puck. Keep doing what you're doing because it's working."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tom Wilson injury update: Forward aims to play with broken facial bone