The Washington Capitals are one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals after blowing out the Carolina Hurricanes 6-0 Saturday to take a 3-2 series lead. However, there journey through the remainder of the Stanley Cup playoffs may be without one of its offensive weapons.
According to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post, TJ Oshie suffered a broken collarbone when he crashed into the boards in the third period of Game 4 of the series. Oshie was propelled into the boards by a hit from Carolina’s Warren Foegele.
Oshie immediately grabbed his shoulder and was assisted off the ice after being attended to by trainers. Despite being penalized a two-minute minor for boarding, Foegele did not face a hearing from the league’s Department of Player Safety.
Oshie’s teammate, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin called the hit a “dirty play.”
The Capitals recalled Devante Smith-Pelly from the Hershey Bears ahead of Game 5’s win. But without Oshie the Caps are losing a large portion of their offense.
Oshie had 54 points in 69 regular season games, including 25 goals. Last season, the forward was a huge contributor during the Capitals’ first-ever Stanley Cup title run with eight goals and 21 points in 24 postseason games. He had two points through the first four games of the postseason before being injured.
