T.J. Oshie, a ‘special player’ for the Caps, looks revitalized after injury

Oshie’s hat trick — the sixth of his career in the regular season and his fourth with Washington — led the Capitals to a 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues, Oshie’s former team. After the game, when Spencer Carbery presented Oshie with the pucks from his three goals, the Capitals coach produced them from inside one of the cowboy hats, as a magician might pull out a rabbit.

“For him to get a hat trick against his former team, lead the charge,” Carbery said, “[I’m] just really proud of him and happy for him that he gets rewarded tonight.”

Perhaps there was a little bit of magic at play for Oshie, who has missed 17 games this season with injuries — six with a concussion he suffered Nov. 24 and 11 games with an upper-body injury that he suffered just four games into his return from the concussion.

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The latest injury knocked Oshie out of the lineup for nearly a month since it intersected with the NHL’s holiday break. He scored a goal against Nashville on Dec. 16, but when he was warming up in Raleigh, N.C., the next night, an injury flared up and made him a late scratch. Oshie didn’t play again until Jan. 11, and while he was sidelined, he traveled to Minnesota for treatment, which set off alarm bells inside Washington’s fan base.

Oshie calmed those concerns after Thursday’s win, standing next to his new cowboy hat — and an oversized, red foam hat that the Capitals’ mascot, Slapshot, was sporting throughout the game — as he met with the media.

“I just go see my chiro there, so it’s the same guy that I’ve seen for two years now, anytime that I miss time with certain injuries,” Oshie said, making a veiled reference to his long-standing back issues. “No different. It’s nice to get some goals here and get some points. It’s always fun to be the guy that’s putting the puck in the net.”

Since he returned from his latest injury, Oshie has five goals in five games; he had just two in 21 games before that. He’s on a four-game point streak and has clicked immediately with his new linemates, winger Max Pacioretty and center Dylan Strome. The hat trick will draw most of the attention, but Oshie’s play since he rejoined the lineup has been consistent, and he looks like a renewed version of himself after a difficult start to the season.

It took Oshie six games to record his first assist and 16 to score his first goal. His effort level has never been in question, but it just didn’t look like Oshie, who turned 37 on Dec. 23, was keeping pace at this point of his career. A trip to Minnesota and a visit to his chiropractor changed that.

“His actual five-on-five minutes have been exceptional thus far of him coming back,” Carbery said before Thursday’s game. “Usually, it takes guys a little bit, coming back from injury, to get up to speed and back running to their level of play. But he has hit the ground running coming back from the injury and playing at a real high level, helping drive that line.”

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Oshie scored his first two goals Thursday on the power play — one on a high-end individual effort, after receiving a stretch pass from Pacioretty, and one on a tic-tac-toe passing sequence with Pacioretty and Strome that emphasized the rapidly developing chemistry among the trio.

“It’s just a matter of putting him in the right situations, having his line help him and having that combination work from a centerman and left winger standpoint,” Carbery said. “He’s a good hockey player. A really, really quality hockey player that, even as he’s gotten older, knows the things you need to do to be successful offensively.”

The Capitals desperately wanted Oshie to complete the hat trick. After the Blues pulled goalie Jordan Binnington with just over two minutes left, Oshie was on the ice from 1:32 left in the game until he scored into the empty net with 20 seconds left. Oshie told center Nic Dowd and winger Tom Wilson that they should shoot for the empty net to seal the victory if they had an opening, but there was no other way for the game to end than with the puck on Oshie’s stick.

“He’s a special player,” Strome said. “Special guy to have in the room. I think you can tell the way our team plays when he’s in the lineup and when he’s not. He adds a ton to our team and in the dressing room as well. There’s a reason that he’s got a letter on his chest. It’s well earned.”

When “Take Me Home, Country Roads” blared through the arena for the third time, Oshie sat on the bench and saluted the crowd as they sang along — and then began chanting his name. Oshie appeared to get emotional as he lifted a hand to his mouth and blew a kiss into the air.

Oshie’s reaction to his hat trick — and the fans’ response — exemplifies why he has long been a fan favorite in Washington.

“It’s pretty special,” Oshie said. “Even at this point in my career, to get that recognition is super cool. … The fans here — really my whole career, here and in St. Louis before that — have always been so generous and supportive of me. I appreciate them losing a couple bucks and throwing some hats out there.”