Tom Wilson drops 4-word hype message for TJ Oshie's debut as hockey analyst during Stanley Cup playoffs

Washington Capitals alternate captain T.J. Oshie made his debut as a studio analyst during ESPN's coverage of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. Oshie appeared on ESPN's broadcast of the Western Conference finals Game 4 between the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers.

His teammate and Capitals forward, Tom Wilson, made sure to tune in to the matchup on Tuesday. Wilson posted a snap of his TV featuring Oshie as part of ESPN's analyst panel for Game 4 from his living room on his stories.

In the caption, he wrote:

“Right side!! Looking good @tjoshie7”

Oshie is currently on long-term injured reserve, which has sidelined him from participating in the playoffs this year. Meanwhile, Washington was eliminated from the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs in the second round.

After a strong regular season where they secured the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Capitals defeated the Montreal Canadiens in five games in the first round. However, they fell to the Canes in the second round, losing the series 4-1. The decisive Game 5 ended in a 3-1 loss at Capital One Arena, where Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov scored the game-winning goal late in the third period.

Tom Wilson earned high praise from Alex Ovechkin and teammates for Game 2 display

Earlier this month, the Washington Capitals won Game 2 of their second-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes with a 3-1 score. Tom Wilson came up big on the night, scoring a goal and assisting another.

The 31-year-old earned praise from his teammates for his standout performance. Caps captain Alex Ovechkin praised Wilson’s game and energy. He mentioned that he led by example and helped fire up the team and fans.

“He (Tom Wilson) set the tone,” Ovechkin said. “He's our leader.” (H/T thehockeynews)

Wilson got an assist on John Carlson’s power-play goal and later scored an empty-net goal to secure the win. Connor McMichael also scored for the Capitals.

Goalie Logan Thompson also praised Wilson, saying the team feeds off his energy and all-around game.

“Oh my god. Yeah, he was good,” Thompson said. “Feel like I'm always talking about this guy. Like I said before, he does everything the right way. We build off it. I think the whole stadium built off it. Big part of why we won tonight and got to keep this thing going.”

After the game, Tom Wilson gave credit to Alex Ovechkin and said the captain sets the tone every night.

About the author

Anjum is an NHL reporter at Sportskeeda with over five years of professional experience in the spectator sports industry. Raised in Bahrain, Anjum grew up close to the Formula 1 and GP2 scene, but it was ice-sports that she truly had a chance to play at school.

Anjum prioritizes thorough research, fact-checking and verification of sources when reporting, and has worked for Oil on Whyte, Leafs Herald, the Nation of Blaugrana, Barca International Cules, FromTheBend, Last Word On Sports and NASA.

She got interested in ice hockey after watching the “MVP” trilogy as a second grader and has not gotten over the sport yet. Her favorite player is Alex Ovechkin, whose legendary one-timers live rent free in her heart. The iconic moment when Ovechkin reached 800 career goals with a hat trick in Chicago as the away crowd chanted “Ovi, Ovi” is probably her happiest memory from an ice-rink.

When not enjoying the game, Anjum can be found sailing, star-mapping or collaborating with fellow citizen scientists at NASA.

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Edited by Anjum Rajonno