Penguins' Zach Aston-Reese Needs Surgery on Broken Jaw from Tom Wilson Hit

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese suffered a broken jaw on a hit by Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson during the second period of Pittsburgh's 4-3 loss to the Caps in Game 3 of its second-round playoff series on Tuesday.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan described Aston-Reese's condition after the game, according to ESPN.com's Greg Wyshynski: "We lose a guy to a broken jaw that's going to require surgery and a concussion because of another high hit to the head. At some point, we would hope that the league might do something."

Pittsburgh lost defenseman Brian Dumoulin to a high hit from Wilson in Game 2, but Dumoulin was able to play Tuesday.

Wilson was not penalized for the hits, but Penguins players took issue with his response to the Aston-Reese collision.

Per Wyshynski, Pens defenseman Justin Schultz called it "disrespectful" when Wilson laughed after laying out Aston-Reese.

The impact of the hit had carried Wilson into his own bench area.

Wilson is among the most physical players in the NHL. He ranked fourth in the league with 250 hits during the regular season and second in penalty minutes with 187.

The 23-year-old Aston-Reese is a role player for Pittsburgh who registered four goals and two assists in 16 regular-season games. In nine playoff contests, he has one assist.

With Aston-Reese out for the foreseeable future, Pittsburgh will be forced to deep into its bench by activating a forward such as Carter Rowney, Josh Jooris of Daniel Sprong.

The Penguins trail the series 2-1, but they will have a chance to make it level Thursday in Game 4.