ARLINGTON, Va. — T.J. Oshie lingered on the ice long after many of his Washington Capitals teammates departed for the locker room following the loss that eliminated them from the playoffs.
His family was at all four games, including in New York, just in case. They could be the final ones he plays in the NHL.
Oshie, 37, isn’t calling it a career just yet, but the winger acknowledged Tuesday he and doctors must find a solution to his chronic back problems before committing to return for a 17th season.
“I’d love to play next year, but I will need to come back with somewhat of a guarantee that my back won’t be — it’s hard putting everyone through the situation,” Oshie said. “I’d like to find just an answer and a fix to the problem before I make another run at it.”
Oshie’s back and other injuries limited him to 52 of 82 games during the regular season, and he played the series finale against the Rangers with a broken left hand.
“A broken hand is like a hangnail compared to what I go through with my back,” Oshie said, adding he’s often on the floor unable to move when it gives out. “There’s been a lot of just extra things that I have to do to make sure that my back is ready to play an NHL game.”
Already expecting center Nicklas Backstrom to remain on long-term injured in the final year of his contract after stepping away in November because of a nagging hip issue, general manager Brian MacLellan said the team will support Oshie whichever decision he makes and doesn’t have a date by which he’d like an answer.
“If he determines at some point that he feels good, he wants to come back to play, let’s go that way,” MacLellan said. “If he doesn’t, we’ll work it out that way, too.”
Oshie’s presence or lack thereof would certainly affect how the Capitals affect the offseason, whether they can use his $5.75 million salary space or need to fill a major void.
“He’s a big part of our team,” MacLellan said. “You have him, or you go out and find a guy.”
Oshie, who reached the 1,000 games milestone and scored the empty-net goal that clinched a playoff spot, long ago emerged as a popular teammate and fan favorite and was the Capitals’ emotional engine for nearly a decade while playing through injuries.
“He’s a warrior,” captain Alex Ovechkin said. “He’s a guy who brings energy on the ice and off the ice. He have so much respect from the coaching staff to the fans and from the players, as well. He’s a guy who brings everything to this group on the ice and off the ice.”
As for Ovechkin, after scoring just eight goals in his first 43 games of the season, the superstar went on a tear down the stretch to finish with 31 before being held without a point in a playoff series for the first time. At 853, he’s 42 away from Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record, turns 39 in September and has two years remaining on his contract.
“If I make it, it’s good, but it’s still 42 goals,” Ovechkin said. “It’s kind of a long way. But it’s possible if you’re going to be healthy, yeah.”
MacLellan joked about penciling in Ovechkin for 42 next season, knowing full well it’s unfair to expect one of the oldest players in the league to carry Washington offensively. His hope is also to add through trades and free agency to give Ovechkin some help.
Though it lacks the volume of teams in close proximity like the Eastern Conference wild-card race, the Western derby is no less wild. Sunday’s action will provide yet another clue as to who will earn the final spot in that half of the postseason bracket.
Heading into Sunday’s slate, the Minnesota Wild appear pretty well locked in to the the first wild-card spot, with 79 points and 29 regulation wins through 67 games. But who gets the second one?
Right now it’s the Vancouver Canucks, with 73 points and 24 RW in 66 games. They’re taking on the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+). Once past that game, they’ll play eight games of their final 15 against playoff teams.
Next up are the Calgary Flames, with 71 points and 24 RW in 65 games. They are idle on Sunday and will play against teams currently in playoff position in nine of their final 17 contests.
Speaking of the UHC, following Sunday’s game against the Canucks, seven of the remaining 15 games are against current playoff-positioned clubs.
Stathletes gives the Canucks the best playoff chances of the group (31.1%), followed by the Blues (30.2%), Hockey Club (22.4%) and Flames (20.2%). The “prize” for the team that wins this race is likely a first-round matchup with the Winnipeg Jets, but upsets do happen!
There is a lot of runway left until April 17, the final day of the regular season, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 62 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 75.9 Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 20
Points: 45 Regulation wins: 13 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 14 Points pace: 54.3 Next game: vs. CAR (Thursday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 1
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
TOKYO — For two days in Japan, it’s the Hanshin Tigers who have looked like the class of the National League.
In another sign that Japanese baseball has never been better, the Tigers capped a two-game sweep over MLB clubs with a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday at the Tokyo Dome.
Even more impressive, the Tigers didn’t give up a run in either game. Daichi Ishii recorded the final out, freezing James Outman for strike three on a 95 mph fastball to cap 18 scoreless innings in a row.
“These two days were priceless,” Hanshin manager Kyuji Fujikawa said through an interpreter.
Hanshin tagged two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell for three runs in the fourth inning when the first two batters reached base before Teruaki Sato smoked a three-run homer into the right-field seats, where a jubilant Tigers fan club erupted in celebration.
On the mound, right-hander Hiroto Saiki threw five dominant innings, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out seven. Saiki struck out Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to start the game and coaxed a harmless popup from the slugger in the fourth.
“Really good ballclub,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I thought they played really good defense. They can handle velocity, good with the fastball. The starter [Saiki] had major league stuff. Good command, good split. And then Sato, he looks the part. He’s a really impressive baseball player.”
Saiki was one of the best pitchers in Japan last season, finishing with a 13-3 record and a 1.88 ERA over 167⅔ innings. The Tigers had a 74-63 record last season, which was good for second place in Japan’s Central League.
The Tigers started the two-game sweep with a 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday after 20-year-old lefty Keito Mombetsu threw five perfect innings. No Cubs player reached base until Miguel Amaya smacked a single through the infield in the sixth that just got past the shortstop.
Hanshin also dominated on the basepaths against the Cubs, going 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts.
“They clearly showed they can play at the top level,” Roberts said.
Japanese players have made a huge mark on MLB, particularly over the past three decades. Former Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki was recently elected to the Hall of Fame, and this week’s Tokyo Series features five Japanese players, including three on the Dodgers with Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.
Skenes is coming off a dominant performance in his first season in the majors. The 22-year-old right-hander went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts for Pittsburgh in 2024, winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
The Pirates posted a video on social media on Saturday that showed Shelton informing Skenes of his decision.
In the video, Skenes walks into Shelton’s office and answers a couple questions about how his bullpen went and how he was feeling. Shelton later got up from behind his desk and informed Skenes he would be starting March 27 at Miami. He shook hands with Skenes and gave him a hug.
“Congrats, brother,” Shelton said to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
“Appreciate it,” Skenes responded.
The 22-year-old Skenes has been working on incorporating a cutter and a running two-seam fastball to go along with his blazing four-seam fastball.