The Capitals welcomed back a veteran winger to their lineup tonight as Sammi Silber of The Hockey News relayed that T.J. Oshie was taken off injured reserve. He took the place of winger Tom Wilson in the lineup with the team announcing (Twitter link) that Wilson was out due to an upper-body injury.
Oshie had missed nearly three weeks due to a non-contact upper-body injury. While his numbers on the season (ten goals and eight assists in 38 games) are a bit underwhelming for someone who is used to being a key secondary scorer, the 37-year-old has been much more productive as of late. Since the calendar turned to 2024, Oshie has tallied eight goals and six assists in 17 contests, way closer to the level of output that Washington needs and expects from the veteran.
As for Wilson, he is in the middle of a down year offensively as well. Through 61 games, he has 15 goals and 13 assists while once again being among the league leaders in penalty minutes. However, his 0.46 points-per-game average is his lowest since the 2017-18 campaign. That’s not what the Capitals were hoping for when they signed him to a seven-year, $45.5MM contract extension back in August. Oshie will take Wilson’s place on Washington’s second line.
While center Nic Dowd and defenseman Martin Fehervary have been cleared for contact in recent days, they both have not yet been activated off injured reserve. When that time comes, the Capitals will be back up to 23 skaters on their active roster after carrying the minimum in recent days.
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