T.J. Oshie became an American sports icon after his spectacular shootout moves helped the United States beat Russia in the 2014 Winter Olympics men’s ice hockey tournament preliminary round. It’s a mouthful. But it’s what Oshie did. If stamps were still a relevant thing he’d probably get one.
He’ll be a rock start when he gets back to the United States because of his theatrics, but fans of the St. Louis Blues weren’t all that surprised to see Oshie dominating the Russians in the shootout. Even as Russia rolled out their tanks in Pavel Datsyuk (who’s come up with a few dazzlers in his time) and Ilya Kovalchuk, Oshie kept on doing what he’s always done for St. Louis.
And that’s bury his chances in the skills competition. Or game-winning shots, as they’re apparently known in Olympic play.
The argument has been made that the shootout is the only reason that Oshie is on the American team in the first place. It seems like a sound line of thinking when you consider that Kyle Okposo—the only top-1o scorer from the NHL not in Sochi—and Bobby Ryan are watching from their homes, but Oshie made the USA brass look brilliant for his inclusion on the final roster.
“Oshie’s got that shootout move” are now words that will live in infamy because of what he did for the United States against Russia, but it’s hardly the first time that he’s put on a show. Here’s a look at his five best shootout goals ever. In no particular order because it’s pretty arbitrary to begin with.
Here we go.