Washington Capitals likely without T.J. Oshie for rest of playoffs

The Washington Capitals’ defense of their Stanley Cup just got harder, with winger T.J. Oshie surely out for the rest of the playoffs.

Late in Carolina’s 2-1 Game 4 win on Thursday night, Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie took an awkward, from-behind hit from Hurricanes’ forward Warren Foegele. Initial indications were not good, including how Oshie went off the ice, which pointed to a broken collarbone.

Those expectations have come to fruition, with Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post reporting Saturday that Oshie indeed suffered a broken collarbone and will almost certainly miss the rest of the playoffs.

Oshie was Washington’s fifth-leading point scorer during the regular season (54 points), with 25 goals (second on the team). He had one goal and one assist through four games of the series against the Hurricanes.

Oshie was a vital cog in the Capitals’ run to the Stanley Cup in 2018, with 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) and six power play goals. So for the remainder of these playoffs, he will be missed.

Foegele was given a two-minute boarding minor for the hit on Oshie, with no further discipline from the league.

With Oshie out, the Capitals came back and had a dominant 6-0 win in Game 5 on Saturday to take a 3-2 series lead. Center Nicklas Backstrom had four points (two goals and two assists), while Alex Ovechkin (three points-one goal, two assists), Tom Wilson (two points-one goal, one assist) Evgeny Kuznetsov (two assists) and John Carlson (two assists) also had multiple points to spread out the scoring void left by Oshie. Goaltender Braden Holtby held up his end, stopping all of Carolina’s shots in Game 5.

Devante Smith-Pelly was called up to take Oshie’s place on the roster, and he had five hits with a shot on goal in nearly 11 minutes of action on Saturday.

Oshie’s absence will make the Capitals’ attempt to defend their Stanley Cup measurably harder. But the top-end talent is still in place to finish a series win against Carolina, and even without a top-six forward another deep playoff run can’t be ruled out.