TJ Oshie is no stranger to the reality that nearly every NHL playoff series eventually turns into a schoolyard brawl.
During his 16 seasons in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals, Oshie played in 106 playoff games, winning the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018. Oshie only missed the postseason three times before retiring in 2024, giving him unique insight into how teams look at and handle certain scenarios in heated playoff series.
Oshie, now a full-time analyst for ESPN, shared some of his experiences during a guest spot for The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, specifically highlighting how the Boston Bruins could work their way back into their first-round series against the Buffalo Sabres. The Bruins were blown out 6-1 in Game 4 on Sunday and are now down 3-1 in the series.
“You would have liked to maybe see Boston last night – I don’t even care what happens here, you’re out of the game, just start creating havoc,” Oshie said. “This is still hockey here. Just drop the gloves. Start running guys over. Whatever it is. I don’t care what it is. That’s what you’d want to see, right?
“You want to get a little reckless, get a little Tom Wilson on your squad or something like that. Boston can get into this if Buffalo sits back and thinks it’s just going to be a cakewalk, they’re just going to win the series 4-1, and it’s going to be easy. They’ll be in for a little bit of a surprise.”
The Capitals have benefitted from some Wilson-branded chaos in multiple playoff series, most recently against the Montreal Canadiens last year. In what turned out to be a blowout win for the Canadiens in Game 3 of the two teams’ first-round series, Wilson still made sure to take his pound of flesh.
Ahead of the game, he exchanged verbal barbs with Canadiens enforcer Arber Xhekaj, and then famously got into a literal bench brawl with Josh Anderson at the conclusion of the second period. The heated bout and Wilson’s ensuing viral crybaby taunt seemingly bled into Game 4, when Wilson threw a devastating hit on defenseman Alexandre Carrier that practically ended the series.
Tom Wilson bench brawl with Josh Anderson
“You have to make an impact every time you’re on the ice,” Oshie said. “As a forward, for me, I wanted whatever defenseman I’m going to go against to be petrified that the second he touches the puck, I’m coming full speed and I don’t care what happens. Maybe we both get hurt, it doesn’t matter, but that’s kinda the mentality you have to have in a playoff series, right?”
To the Bruins’ credit, they did try to muck up the end of their loss to the Sabres on Sunday. Boston’s Nikita Zadorov earned a five-minute major penalty and a 10-minute misconduct for cross-checking Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin with just 3:17 left in regulation.
Nikita Zadorov cross-check on Rasmus Dahlin
The blow to Dahlin’s arm kicked off a melee on the ice and cost Zadorov just a $5,000 fine from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety, the maximum allowable under the CBA.
Boston will renew acquaintances with Buffalo on Tuesday night, with the Sabres having a chance to eliminate the Bruins with a win on home ice. Zadorov will have a front-row seat to seeing if any of his shenanigans throw the Sabres off their game and let the Bruins fight their way back into the series.
