Today's game puts Tom Wilson among the NHL's elite

The 31 year old winger scored twice against New York to reach a team leading 15 goals on the season, giving Washington exactly the kind of finish they have been begging for.

His two goal afternoon also nudged him into a tie for fifth in the league in goals, trailing only Nathan MacKinnon and Morgan Geekie at 20, Kirill Kaprizov at 17, and Sidney Crosby at 16.

What really jumps out is how natural this looks for Wilson now. Once viewed mainly as a physical tone setter, he has quietly become the Capitals' most reliable all situations scoring threat.

Last season he erupted for 33 goals and 65 points, both career highs, which already hinted that the offensive ceiling was higher than most of us guessed back in his 2012 draft year at 16th overall.

Washington is finally leaning into that version of Wilson, giving him prime power play and late game usage instead of only crash and bang minutes.

The Islanders, unfortunately for them, know the script by heart. Coming into today, most databases had Wilson at 12 goals in 52 career games against New York, so the brace here pushes him to 14 in 53, tying Pittsburgh as his favorite target.

That is not an accident; his heavy game fits perfectly against their structured, grinding style.

You can see how the ripple effect runs through the lineup. With Wilson driving offense, Alex Ovechkin does not need to chase every shot from the outside, and secondary scorers like Connor McMichael can work more favorable matchups.

It also validates why the organization kept betting on Wilson's evolution rather than selling high. At six foot four and 225 pounds, with hands that now match the frame, there simply are not many comparable players in the league.