TJ Oshie returned to practice on Friday morning. He had missed Thursday morning’s skate and was held out of the line-up for the match-up against the Caroline Hurricanes due to illness.
The Capitals face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night, so the return of their second-highest goal-scorer (tied with Jakub Vrana with 23 goals) is especially welcome.
“It’ll be important for us to try and get a win tomorrow night and try to take whatever mental edge or peace we can,” Oshie said after practice. “Knowing if we accomplish what we want to that there’s a good chance we’re going to have to go through these guys.”
Oshie back on the ice today for practice #CapsBolts pic.twitter.com/w5ZLEXlTqZ
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 29, 2019
Oshie’s absence had moved Andre Burakovsky to the second line on Thursday and Tom Wilson to the first power-play unit.
Hopefully this is the last of the bug that has been traveling through the team. Carl Hagelin missed a game and Evgeny Kuznetsov was sent home from practice with the same illness.
The Capitals lost the first two of their three matches against the Lightning during the regular season, putting more pressure on Saturday’s outcome.
“You know, we haven’t found a way to beat them yet,” Oshie said after practice. “And they’ve been two pretty exciting games to play in, really. Two games where you wish it was already a series and you could play each other two nights later.”
If the Capitals progress far enough in the playoffs, a series against the Lightning might be in the Capitals’ future.
Headline image: @Capitals
