Injured Capitals winger T.J. Oshie skated on his own prior to the team's pre-game practice on Wednesday morning, but Coach Barry Trotz downplayed the significance of it.
Oshie suffered an upper body injury against Detroit last week and has been sidelined since. The team has said he’s week-to-week. And that prognosis has not changed, according to Trotz, despite Oshie’s twirl at Kettler Capitals Iceplex.
The first line right wing reportedly did some stick-handling and light shooting.
“He’s just week-to-week,” Trotz said. “Upper body injury."
Trotz then cracked: “The lower body still works.”
Six days removed from the injury, the Caps are still learning to overcome the temporary loss of Oshie, whose eight goals and heavy contributions on special teams made him arguably the team’s most important player through the first month.
“I don’t know if it settles, ever,” Trotz said. “But guys just know they’re in [the lineup] and this is where I’m going to play. There’s no wondering. We’ve got 21 guys and, forward-wise, they’re all playing and they know what roles they’re in.”
Trotz added: “They've just got to get it done now. There’s really no excuse. They’ve got to perform and we got a real good challenge tonight against the Blues.”
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