T.J. Oshie is Captain America for a Day

Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

David Backes is typically referred to as Captain America by St. Louis Blues fans, but that may change after T.J. Oshie put on a remarkable show today as the United States took down Russia in a thrilling shootout victory.

In a game that literally had a little bit of everything—from blown calls to bad calls to disallowed goals and everything in between—regulation and overtime just wasn’t enough to contain these two super-powered teams. With play tied through three periods and the extra session, the contest came down to “game-winning shots” as they are known in Olympic play.

With a lineup that is stacked with shifty goal scorers like Patrick Kane, James van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel, USA head coach Dan Bylsma found the calm center of the storm in Oshie. In the Olympics, coaches can use the same players over in over in shootouts after the first three guys go.

Bylsma rolled out Oshie not once, twice or even three times. He gave the 27-year-old Washington native six opportunities to score on Russian netminder Sergei Bobrovsky. He buried four of those chances, including a the game winner.

He was going head-to-head with Russia’s two-headed shootout monster in Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk and managed to come out on top. The fourth liner (on Team USA anyway) coming through and downing two of the best shooter on the face of the planet. Does it get any more American than that?

Bars and houses across Missouri usually erupt when Oshie scores a goal. Today he brought an entire nation to their feet.