The Washington Capitals have announced that winger T.J. Oshie will not return to Friday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers due to an upper-body injury.
Oshie, 36, suffered the injury early in the second period. He received a surprising hit from Mattias Ekholm when he didn’t have the puck, as he happened to skate in front of Connor McMichael. McMichael was skating into the offensive zone with the puck at that time and was Ekholm’s original target.
Ekholm didn’t receive a penalty on the infraction and Oshie left the game after the hit. Oshie finished the contest with one hit in 6:45 of ice time, with the Caps trailing 2-0 at the time of his departure.
Oshie has had a jarringly slow start to the season, with just one goal and one assist for two points in 17 games. That puts him on pace for a mere nine points in a full 82-game season, which would be the lowest point total of his career.
Oshie’s one of the most effective penalty drawers in the league, with his 1.27 minor penalties drawn per 60 minutes tied for 24th among forwards with at least 2500 of ice time.
Oshie was a former first-round pick of the St. Louis Blues and spent seven seasons in St. Louis before he was dealt to the Capitals in the 2015 offseason. He has played nine seasons in Washington, winning a Stanley Cup with the Caps in 2018.
Oshie is in the seventh year of an eight-year contract with a $5.75 million annual average, one he signed in the 2017 offseason before hitting free agency.
The Capitals were riding a five-game winning streak and a seven-game point streak heading into Friday’s game against the Oilers. They went into the contest sitting at second place in the Metropolitan Division with a 10-4-2 record.
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