ARLINGTON, VA — TJ Oshie has had plenty of playoff experience in DC. Regular-season success was almost a given for most of his tenure in Washington as the Capitals made the postseason in his first seven years with the team. But that success turned far harder to find during the 2022-23 campaign, leaving the Caps out of the postseason for the first time since 2014.
Now, fast forward a year, and the 37-year-old winger has an unexpected shot at the playoffs in the later days of his career. Oshie, who played his 1,000th NHL game in March, has dealt with lingering back problems for several years, missing 30 games this season and 23 in 2022-23.
Oshie, nominated for the 2024 Masterton Trophy, has been frank about concerns that he would never reach that milestone game, let alone be involved in another playoff run. The veteran forward has one more season remaining on his contract before it expires in 2025. Given his injury history and the Capitals’ uncertain future, this could well be his last opportunity at the playoffs.
“I think sometimes when you’re younger, you’re naive that it’s just going to be every year [that] you’re going to get the chance to do it,” he told reporters Thursday. “Missing last year opens your eyes to the fact that it is very hard to get into the postseason, you need a lot of the right pieces. It’s even harder to move up to the second round, the third round, and the Finals. We’re not taking anything for granted.”
Before last spring, Oshie hadn’t missed the playoffs since his third NHL season with the St. Louis Blues in 2011. He admitted he’d grown used to playing postseason hockey over the years: the 2022-23 season showed just how easily that could be taken away. An extended offseason gave him time to stabilize his back, while memories of the prior year spurred him on as he worked towards the fall.
“I think it gives extra hunger, obviously in the postseason, to train a little harder than maybe you thought you could,” he said of missing the playoffs. “Getting down the wire here, that taste almost comes back a little bit, of what it feels like going home early and not being able to fight for the Cup. That gives you extra motivation, if you needed any, to try and get the job done. Happy we’re able to do it and excited to move on.”
Even with his offseason preparations which included a double ablation procedure, Oshie’s back hampered much of his season. The injury likely also contributed to scoring struggles, especially early on in the year, as he recorded just four goals in his first 25 games. Still, he proved crucial to the Capital’s eventual playoff berth, culminating when he scored the game-winning empty-net goal against the Philadelphia Flyers to secure a wild-card spot.
Neither Oshie nor the Capitals had an easy path to the playoffs this season. Their jobs won’t get any easier from here, either, as they prepare to take on the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers on Sunday. But with the sting of losing fresh on his mind and time continuing to take its toll, Oshie celebrated his team for what they’d accomplished.
“(I’m) very proud,” he said. “The ups and downs of the season, especially the lows: the injuries to key guys, losing Backy, losing Kuzy, some guys missing big stretches, some very young guys, inexperienced, coming in into some very large roles, goaltending changes, all this other stuff. It makes you stronger as a team. It makes you closer as brothers. Getting through those hard times makes you want to work harder for the guy next to you. This has been a special year for us. We want it to continue.”
Oshie is one of just four current Capitals remaining from the franchise’s victorious 2018 Stanley Cup team. He comes into the 2024 postseason with 34 career playoff goals, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (72) on the team’s roster.
