The Washington Capitals were back on friendly ice for the first time in a long time on Wednesday. The Capitals got their first practice in at MedStar Capitals Iceplex since departing for their five-game road trip out west over 10 days ago.
Joining them on the ice in a non-contact jersey after he did not join them on their trip was veteran winger TJ Oshie. Oshie has been out of the lineup and on injured reserve since he suffered a scary upper-body injury against the Edmonton Oilers on Black Friday.
In that game against Edmonton, Oshie collided hard into Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm during a Capitals power play, appearing to be hit in the head. The forward, who has a history of concussions, crumpled to the ice and stayed down before slowly making his way back to the locker room with the help of his teammates and the team’s training staff.
Oshie did not return for the rest of regulation and shortly after the game, head coach Spencer Carbery announced that he would miss the entirety of the team’s upcoming, long road spell.
Given how long Oshie has been on injured reserve, he would be eligible to come off of it and play against the Dallas Stars on Thursday. NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti reports that Oshie plans on wearing a regular practice jersey at Thursday’s morning skate but he will not play in the game later that day.
“He’s been really good,” Carbery said Wednesday. “He’s been skating with Kenny McCudden and [Max Pacioretty] the last week or so. He’s trending really well.”
Encouragingly, Oshie started working out again just days after his injury which came almost directly after his wife Lauren gave a positive update about his status.
Oshie’s injury came at an unfortunate time as he had just finally scored his first goal of the year two nights prior against the Buffalo Sabres on Thanksgiving Eve. He had also played in all of the team’s 17 games to that point.
That latter fact is notable as Oshie is coming off two injury-marred seasons, costing him more than 60 games. The right wing’s primary ailment is a lingering back problem that he developed after playing through a broken foot during the 2021-22 season, leading to three extended absences from the team.
While Oshie has just two points in his 17 games this year, Carbery believes he was a huge part of the team’s early success.
“I’ve told him, he’s done a lot of good things for our team and a big reason why we’re winning a lot of games,” Carbery said. “Yeah, it might not be in the game sheet every night, but I see it on the film. We’re winning games because of a lot of the little things he does.”
The Capitals play the Stars at home on Thursday and then the Rangers at home on Saturday before heading back out onto the road. They’ll either practice or have a morning skate for the next three days.
