After losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games, the Washington Capitals cleaned out their lockers and met with the media on Friday.
Injured forward TJ Oshie was the first player to speak at the podium. “It sucks we’re here today and having this conversation,” Oshie said.
Within minutes of the chat, he touched on something that meant a lot to him.
Oshie said he was almost moved to tears while watching Game Five from home after Caps fans started chanting his name in tribute.
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T.J. Oshie on his injury in the playoffs and looking forward to next season#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/eEUKWA9Hyo
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 26, 2019
“Individual success to me isn’t as important as team success,” Oshie said. “Winning the Cup is more important than any individual award I’ve ever received, but when a crowd chants your name, it’s special. When I heard it on TV the first time — I’m kind of a softie I think you all learned that last year — it was hard to hold back some tears of pride and appreciation for the support they showed.”
Oshie missed Games Five, Six, and Seven after being shoved into the boards shoulder-first by Warren Foegele. Oshie broke his collarbone.
In the third period of Game Five, Capitals fans chanted Oshie’s name as the team went on to win 6-0.
The cheers could be heard loudly on TV.
.@TJOshie77!! @TJOshie77!! @TJOshie77!! pic.twitter.com/vlxy90RRNJ
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 21, 2019
“Body feels as good as it can at this point,” Oshie said. “I was pretty lucky. It’s not a separated shoulder. It doesn’t take a lot of rehabbing. The bone and plate gotta heal and then I’ll be good to go, have a full summer of workouts.”
Oshie said that if the Capitals were able to go deep in the playoffs, he would have returned. The team never announced a recovery time for Oshie or explicitly said he was done for the season.
“I think they know how excited I get to beat recovery times, so they didn’t give me one,” Oshie said, adding later “I don’t know what the doctors’ plans were but my plan was that I was going to be playing if the boys went far.”
Oshie did return to Capital One Arena on Wednesday but as a fan. The forward, wearing a suit and his arm in a sling, sat in the press box until he was taken down to ice level to pump fans up late in the third period.
“I kind of blacked out when everyone was cheering there,” Oshie said. “It was pretty cool and then we almost scored a minute later, which would have been pretty exciting. The fans have given me so much support – not just right now after going into the boards funny – since I’ve been here. That moment was no different, pretty special for me, at a time that was not very funny when you have to sit on the sidelines.”
Headline photo: @Capitals
