When T.J. Oshie opened his front door on Thursday morning, he was greeted by a rather peculiar sight: There, on his doorstep, was a black-and-yellow Pittsburgh Penguins poster, which he figured had been left there by a neighbor wishing to have a little fun.
Oshie didn’t think much of it, chalking it up to a bit of friendly gamesmanship hours before he and the Washington Capitals were set to begin their second-round playoff series. His wife, Lauren, had other thoughts: Not long after Oshie went to the rink, their 2-year-old daughter, Lyla, wearing a Capitals sweater, delivered a swift kick to the rolled-up poster, a moment that Lauren captured and shared via social media.
What daughter did earlier in the day, father did at night — and with help from video to boot. Oshie scored three goals, polishing off his third career hat trick with a scrutinized overtime winner in a 4-3 victory over the Penguins in Game 1.
The third goal, delivered via wraparound on goaltender Matt Murray at 9:33 of the extra session, required nearly five minutes of review before the initial call was upheld. It punctuated an emotional, charged, wrought opener to a series that was framed by the rekindling of a rivalry and a showdown of stars.
“That’s kind of the stuff you dream about when you’re a kid playing in the backyard by yourself — scoring the OT winner and getting a hat trick,” Oshie said. “It was awesome. Great way to win.”
It may sound dramatic — but then again, Oshie knows all about theatrics. Thrust into the national consciousness with his performance in the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014, when he took six shots in a shootout in the United States’ preliminary round victory over Canada, Oshie had struggled for years to find some measure of playoff success.
SEE ALSO: LOVERRO: By granting T.J. Oshie’s winning goal, Capitals earn something nice
When he was finally traded from the St. Louis Blues to the Capitals in July, the move followed another postseason letdown in which he had one goal and one assist. That gave him just four goals and five assists in 30 career playoff games, which helped make him a target for the retooling Blues.
“Just haven’t found the net enough,” Oshie said, reflecting on his lack of playoff success. “The hit on me is usually that I pass too much. Maybe that’s the reason. Tonight, I was shooting a little bit more. I don’t know.”
Oshie finished the game with five shots on goal, tied with John Carlson for the team lead, and had two other attempts. His first goal, at 12:10 of the second period, was the result of a wrister on a simple takeaway. The second, at 3:23 of the third period, followed a feed from Alex Ovechkin that just barely trickled under Murray’s right pads.
The third was much more unclear. Oshie darted around the right of the net, thinking that he could beat Murray to the far post. He didn’t, but the puck bounced off and under the shaft of Murray’s stick before drifting toward his right leg, which was behind the goal line. Oshie, trying to sell the play, threw his arms up in celebration, hoping to get referee Dan O’Rourke to bite.
“When they showed it on the Jumbotron, you could kind of see it, that there was space it between the puck and the line there,” center Jay Beagle said. “You could see white. We kind of knew once they showed it on the Jumbotron — and the way they sell it. When they sell you like that, it’s usually a goal.”
As hats were steadily thrown onto the ice, O’Rourke, having consulted with league officials in Toronto, confirmed the goal. It gave Oshie the first postseason hat trick that included an overtime goal since 2013 and marked the Capitals’ first since Nicklas Backstrom did it in 2010.
SEE ALSO: Opening night fills the bill for series between Capitals, Penguins
“That shows in these games that he’s going to be one of those guys that’s really key for us,” goaltender Braden Holtby said.
Oshie hasn’t had many championship moments after moving past youth hockey. The Blues had been steady playoff disappointments, and even the United States failed to medal in the Olympics that year. “We’re getting deep here,” he joked at one point with a small group of reporters.
Then again, maybe the answer doesn’t need to be deep. Maybe it was right in front of him. When asked if Lauren and Lyla would film other videos to keep the karma flowing, Oshie acquiesced.
“Nope, she’s — ah, maybe,” he said. “Keep it going.”
• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.