The Washington Capitals will play for Tim Oshie for the rest of the season.
Monday, ahead of Game Two, TJ Oshie revealed that the Capitals will continue wearing their COACH helmet decals in honor of his father who passed away in early May.
“It means a lot,” TJ said.
“Tom (Wilson) came up to me and told me the guys wanted to keep them on there for the rest of the playoffs,” TJ said. “I just told him it was so appreciated that we had them on for the game against the Rangers. I wanted to make sure it was okay with all the guys and didn’t want to take anything away from them being focused. It was something they wanted to do. Obviously, I am very happy and thankful and appreciative of the guys for keeping it on there for the run here.”
The Capitals first debuted the stickers on May 5 against the New York Rangers. That night, TJ, in his first game back from bereavement leave, scored a hat trick.
That night was “really good for me on the grieving side of things,” TJ said.
The entire Capitals team mobbed TJ at the bench when he scored his third goal, leaving him in tears. Oshie shared hugs with teammates, Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson, as he left the ice. Inside the locker room, the Capitals “stood arm-to-arm” and sang Take Me Home, Country Roads, TJ’s goal song, per the Washington Post’s Samantha Pell.
Laviolette (who notably prefers to talk about his team over himself) shared a pretty great story of T.J. Oshie’s emotional hat trick night vs NYR, one day after the passing of Oshie’s father. pic.twitter.com/FAQtXHZsgF
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) May 14, 2021
“Some emotions came out a lot during the game,” TJ said. “I tried to hide them as best as I could. And then a bunch in the locker room when some really good words were said to me, kind words. I’m just very lucky that I have such a good support system to get through these times.
“It’s settled in a little bit,” he continued. “I typically call my Dad on game days on my way to the rink every day. That’s kind of my schedule and a way to stay in contact and let him know who we were playing that night. Just chat a little bit. I have been calling my mom lately and I know she appreciates that.”
But no matter how much support he has and how great things are in his life, there’s never a day that goes by where TJ doesn’t miss his dad.
“I don’t know,” Oshie said. “It’s always in the back of my mind. I am always thinking about Coach.”
Photo illustration includes @TJOshie7 photo
