Over the past two seasons, TJ Oshie has missed 55 out of 131 games due to injury and illness. In his tenure with the Capitals, he has played all regular season games in a single season just once.

The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell recently talked to Oshie about his issues staying in the lineup. The crafty winger says his absences during the 2022-23 campaign have all been directly related to problems with his back.

Oshie developed those back issues last season when he tried to play through the pain associated with a broken foot.

During last season’s Breakdown Day, Oshie revealed that he broke his foot in an October 27 game against the Detroit Red Wings. The injury put the right winger in a walking boot, on crutches, and eventually led to him missing time due to his back.

“This year was crazy because I came in feeling really good in the first couple games,” Oshie said then. “Then (you) take a shot to the foot and break your foot. That doesn’t feel the same. I still had to change my skate in playoffs. Everything kind of stemmed off of that. Who knows? If I don’t break my foot, maybe I don’t miss any games. You guys know me well enough that once I can put my foot in a skate and I can move, I want to play. I got out in the game in San Jose where the foot was still in pain, but I thought I could play and make an impact. Then the back went out in that game for no reason really and everything snowballed from there.”

Less than a month after breaking his foot, Oshie tried to return in that game against the Sharks on November 20 and pulled up lame while skating. The back injury caused him to miss over two more weeks of time. Oshie suggested the injuries lingered for the rest of the season and that has stayed the case into this season.

The 36-year-old forward has missed 17 games before this year’s All-Star break over two separate periods of time.

“It is kind of a reality with where I am at in my career,” Oshie told Pell. “The last four times I’ve went out [of the lineup], it’s been for the same thing dating back to last year — and there’s even one stint before that. So it is something that I’ve got to deal with, and if I stay on top of it, then it will be just fine.”

His most recent spell out of action came after he pulled up lame while backchecking in a December 17 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He missed six games with what the team termed an upper-body injury.

“I think because of the history there’s always a concern,” head coach Peter Laviolette said after that game.

T.J. Oshie went to the locker room after this pic.twitter.com/RI3ioexpd7

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 18, 2022

Oshie also underwent surgery on his core over the offseason.

While these sorts of issues might keep a player down in the dumps, Oshie isn’t letting that happen to him.

“I am not thinking about my back or what I have to do for it,” Oshie said. “I just play, and I have fun out there playing. For every game, regular season or playoffs, I’m typically doing what I can contribute to get a win that night.

“It is a lot,” he continued. “I have to do a lot of extra work, but I don’t feel too bad for myself.”

That sort of hard work was on full display in last year’s playoffs when Oshie played some of his most effective hockey of the year, leading the Capitals in goals (6) and points (7). This season Oshie is one of six players on the Caps to reach double digits in goals. He has 17 points (10g, 7a) in 32 games.

Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB