TJ Oshie is back and in a big way.
Osh scored a hat trick against the St. Louis Blues, leading the Capitals to a huge 5-2 victory on Thursday. The winger has five goals in four games since leaving the team and receiving treatment for an injury in Minnesota.
Oshie’s hat trick came on the Capitals’ Country Music Night where the team gave away team-branded cowboy hats to fans who purchased special tickets online. Giving the people what they wanted, Oshie’s made the house DJ play Take Me Home, Country Roads once per period.
The hat trick marked Oshie’s sixth of his career and fourth with the Capitals’ franchise.
Goal 1
Oshie’s first goal of the night came 10:24 into the first period on a power play. Skating down the left wing, Oshie fumbled the puck, regained it, and then fired the biscuit past Jordan Binnington to the top corner of the net. The tally gave the Caps a 1-0 lead.
Goal 2
Oshie’s second again came on the power play. Playing tic-tac-toe with Max Pacioretty and Dylan Strome, Oshie sent a one-timer home from the bumper spot to give the Caps a 3-1 lead.
“Those two guys are pretty special and very easy to play with,” Oshie said post game to Al Koken. “I think Patch did a great job on the wall, keeping things patient and being the quarterback. Obvously, when you’ve got 8 over here, you’ve got four guys plus the goalie worried about him over there. It opens up plays for me. I’ll take it. Our power play is starting to roll here. I know we had a tough start here, but we’ve been working at it, and it’s nice to see a couple go in here.”
Goal 3
Oshie completed the trick with 19.5 seconds remaining, sending the puck into the net after a fortunate bounce.
“I usually don’t get those bounces that I got on the last one, but I’ll take it,” Oshie said.
Fans responded by immediately tossing their hats onto the ice.
Some of the Caps faithful even threw the team’s special giveaway of cowboy hats.
“It’s pretty special,” Oshie said. “Even at this point in my career, to get that recognition, is super cool. I told Tom and Dowder when we went over the bench to just shoot it and win the game. It’s cool to get that recognition. The fans here, really my whole career here, St. Louis, college, and Warroad before that, have always been so generous and so supportive of me.”
Oshie added, “I appreciate them, losing a couple bucks and throwing some hats out there.”
Oshie made sure to celebrate properly post-game, throwing on a cowboy hat after he was named First Star of the Night.
In the end, the Capitals’ could not have written the script any better.
“It’s crazy how that worked out,” Oshie said.
Spencer Carbery presents TJ Oshie with goal pucks and cowboy hat after Country Music Night hat trick
