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Washington looked to avenge their Game 3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night, but the Canes pulled off a 2-1 win to even the series at 2-2. To add injury to the insult, the Caps lost forward T.J. Oshie, as well.
OH NO OSHIE: T.J Oshie is still in the dressing room getting looked at after being boarded by Warren Foegele #Capitals #ALLCAPS @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/CvlBeQSXMK
— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) April 19, 2019
Oshie will be “out for a while,” Caps head coach Todd Reirden said. Oshie suffered an upper-body injury and will miss “quite some time,” Reirden reiterated.
Oshie fell awkwardly into the boards late in the third period. He was pushed into the boards by Hurricanes forward Warren Foegele and collided into the boards shoulder first. Foegele was assessed a two-minute minor penalty for boarding.
Alex Ovechkin VERY critical of Warren Foegele’s hit on T.J. Oshie and the way the officials called it. Oshie left the game and did not return. #Capitals #ALLCAPS @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/r53Tac79sZ
— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) April 19, 2019
“It’s a defenseless player quite a distance from the boards,” Reirden said. “It’s an extremely dangerous play. He won’t be with our team for a while. He won’t be playing anytime soon.”
“I was trying to lift his stick, trying to give him a little nudge,” Foegele told reporters after the Carolina win. “It was a little unfortunate play there. I wasn’t trying to hurt him or anything. I hope he’s OK.”
The Hurricanes scored 17 seconds into the game on an odd-man rush. Justin Williams broke up a Matt Niskanen pinch in the Hurricanes’ zone, and Jaccob Slavin and Foegele converted on the 2-on-1 opportunity.
The fastest the Capitals have ever conceded a goal to start a game was 14 seconds courtesy of Kirk Muller in a 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils in 1988.
The Caps ramped up the pressure in the second period. Oshie drew a hooking penalty from Teuvo Teravainen. On the ensuing power play, Alex Ovechkin unloaded a slap shot from the top of the circle.
It was Ovechkin’s second goal of these playoffs, and the first the Caps have scored on Carolina’s ice this round.
Carolina stormed back to take the lead 28 seconds remaining in the period, and that goal was the difference-maker.
While the Caps were making a line change, Nino Neiderreiter fed the puck to a streaking Teravainen, who buried a wrist shot from the slot.
Oshie ranked second on the team with 25 goals during the regular season and finished with 54 points in 69 games. When healthy, he’s a fixture on one of Washington’s top two lines and on the Capitals’ No.1 power-play unit.
Reirden said he hopes to have a further update Oshie’s condition Friday.
The series will resume with Game 5 on Saturday, April 20 at Capital One Arena.
WTOP’s Ben Raby contributed to this report.
