May 5, 2021 Madison Square Garden Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers there is a tense atmosphere after a fight between these two teams in the game prior the Rangers are looking for revenge against the Capitals and the NHL and are only interested in fighting but there is a quieter storyline developing as well: TJ Oshie returning to the Capitals lineup after being out for a handful of games while grieving the loss of his father so nothing was expected from him except getting reacquainted with the game his father coached him to play between baseball, football, basketball, and golf and pow wowing with their native Ojibwe tribe while living with NHL forward Henry Boucha to the point TJ called him coach instead of dad.
With all the history and backstories the actual game had to start at some point and it started with three fights in the first second there would be more fighting throughout the game TJ Oshie had never been too interested in fighting he was interested in playing hockey and that's what he did in a game where the other team was trying to teach the league a lesson by attacking the integrity of the sport TJ Oshie taught a lesson by maintaining his own integrity by playing the game his father taught him to play instead of playing into the negativity and violence around him.
The first period had six fights and even more penalties but no goals the game had become a sideshow to the sideshow but Oshie came out of the intermission determined nonetheless scoring a goal in the first twelve seconds of the second period it was clear he was thinking of his father as he wiped his face some of his teammates offered their own brands of support and then he went to the faceoff circle for play to resume but had clearly angered the Rangers who would challenge him to a fight that Oshie would turn down to the boos and jeers of a rabid New York audience but that decision paid off when Oshie scored the second goal of the game midway through the second period and although this lacked the emotion of the first goal it was a productive way for Oshie to pay tribute while playing.
By the third period things had calmed down enough people had been thrown out of the game that both sides didn't want to push their luck and were on considerably better behavior and seemed like they were just waiting for the game to end but TJ Oshie's legs had been moving all night and they continued moving pumping through pain and loss scoring one more goal wasn't going to bring anybody back but this wasn't about resurrection nor was this about scoring this was about being somebody who puts in maximum effort and one more goal came as a result creating Oshie's fourth career hat trick (he has five now) and as a couple lonely hats fluttered to the ice Oshie was embraced by his team congratulating his accomplishment admiring his resiliency and capability before returning to their spots on the bench or ice leaving Oshie alone on the bench putting his head down to silently reflect on Henry Boucha on the Ojibwe tribe and on the game he played tonight and the way he played it and the coach who gave him all of those things.