Japers’ Rink Player Card (click for a hi-res version, and a glossary of terms used in this post can be found here; data via NHL.com, war-on-ice.com, General Fanager and Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com):
Oshie’s Season, Game-by-Game (via HockeyViz, explained here):
Oshie’s HERO Chart (via Own The Puck):
Oshie and His Linemates:
Oshie’s 5v5 Teammates and Competition (via HockeyViz, explained here):
Oshie’s 5v5 Usage:
Oshie’s With-or-Without You (via HockeyViz, explained here):
Oshie’s Rolling Shot-Attempt (Corsi) -For Percentage:
Oshie’s Eight Seasons (via Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com):
Key Stat: T.J. Oshie’s six goals in the playoffs were the most goals by a single Capital in a postseason since the 2008-09 season.
Interesting Stat: Oshie won 138 of his 262 face offs this year, giving him a 52.7 percent success rate. That wasn’t only his best percentage of his career, but it was behind only Jay Beagle (58.1 percent) among Capitals with at least 40 face offs taken this season.
The Good: When the Capitals sent Troy Brouwer, Pheonix Copley and a 2016 third-round pick to St. Louis for Oshie, the goal was to acquire a top-line right wing to make plays along with Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, and that’s exactly what they got.
That sense of consistency for Ovechkin and Backstrom worked out well for the Capitals’ top line, and the trio outscored their opponents by a considerable margin throughout the season.
Not only was Oshie’s 26 goals a new career high, but it was the most goals a non-Ovechkin Capital have scored in a single season since Alexander Semin‘s 28 in the 2010-11 season.
Oshie was also extremely effective in front of the net on the power play, recording 11 power play goals, 3 more than Brouwer, who was the primary man in the middle on the power play, managed last season. Oshie was also featured prominently on the NHL’s second-best penalty kill unit, playing 113:59 minutes, the sixth-most on the team and third-most among forwards.
In Game 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Oshie would power his team to victory with a hat trick effort, scoring the game-winner in overtime. Oshie’s six playoff goals was more than he managed to record in every playoff series with the Blues combined. His six goals led all Capitals in the playoffs, and his 10 points were good for fourth on the team.
Oshie also provided a bit of spunk to the top line. He was often good for the surprisingly large hit, provided flash and effort on several different occasions and was not afraid to stand up for his teammates. Oshie also scored on four of his six shootout attempts, often doing so in morally-devestating fashion.
In the waning minutes of every game, no matter the situation, Oshie was deployed. And that’s because he consistently gave the Capitals a chance to win.
The Bad: As noted in the above-linked article, the top line’s possession numbers weren’t exactly ideal (but they were getting the job done). The Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie trio’s Corsi For percentage was just 50.6 percent this season, still positive, but not quite as dominant as you would imagine from that talent level.
Now, that’s not all to blame on Oshie, but it is important to note that, according to Hockey Analysis, both Ovechkin and Backstrom’s Corsi For percentages were actually better when they weren’t playing with Oshie. Backstrom with Oshie? 707:35 minutes of even-strength, 5v5 time and a 49.7 Corsi For percentage. Backstrom without Oshie? 357:55 minutes and a 57.4 Corsi For percentage. Ovechkin? He played 865:14 minutes with Oshie, and managed a 51.6 Corsi For percentage. But, without Oshie, Ovechkin managed a 56.9 Corsi For percentage in 238:50 minutes.
And while Oshie’s goal totals were certainly nice, his assist totals were surprisingly low. Prior to the season, it was assumed that Oshie’s assist totals would see a bit of a jump. After all, he was opposite of consistent 50-goal man Ovechkin. But his 25 assists over the course of an 80-game campaign was the lowest since his rookie year (excluding the lockout year and an injury-riddled 2010-11 season that limited him to just 49 games).
Oshie also struggled to generate high-danger scoring opportunities when he was on the ice. When Oshie was on the ice at even-strength, 5v5, he and his linemates managed to record 10.47 high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes of play. That was just the 18th-most on the team among Capitals players with at least 100 minutes of 5v5 play, and just .23 more than Tom Wilson.
The Video:
The Vote: Rate Oshie below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season – if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.
The Discussion: Were you satisfied with Oshie’s first year as a Capital? What are you expecting from Oshie next year? Do you see Oshie being apart of Washington’s long-term plans? What would it take for you to give him a “10” next year?