T.J. Oshie the shootout master: His top-five goals (Video)
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.
Oshie likes the slow and steady approach. His angle of attack can make it tough for goalies to match his speed (or lack thereof) and it gives him all kinds of time to pick his spot. Once he gets between the faceoff circles, he makes a choice: either shoot for a hole or go to the shake n’ bake.
On this occasion, he boiled Corey Crawford, who never really had a chance.
The subtle approach doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes you’ll see players come blazing in while trying to throw off the goalie’s angle. Oshie waits and waits and waits, and by the time he finally decides to make a move or shoot, it’s a total guessing game for the netminder.
Even for a high-quality guy like Jonathan Quick.
Roberto Luongo Tweeted yesterday that he didn’t feel so bad about this goal after watching Oshie pick Sergei Bobrovsky apart over and over again. It’s hard not to watch this and not chuckle with glee.
Goalies do their homework. They know the tendencies of players on the other team, especially when it comes to the shootout. In an age where digital coaching and video is king, it’s amazing that Oshie still manages to convert with this multi-option move time and time again.
Last but not least, Oshie buries the Blackhawks… again. That never gets old, right?
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