During the summer, a couple of players and coaches raved about T.J. Oshie’s play in the Stanley Cup final — pointing out that as the series progressed, the Golden Knights couldn’t budge him. “They bounced right off,” one said. “They couldn’t do anything to him.”
At last week’s NHL media tour, Oshie said he recognized early in the series the Vegas players were coming hard, so he made an adjustment to his skates. He normally keeps them loose, with some extra padding, for added flexibility. He removed the padding and tied them tighter, going instead for stability. It is a little thing, but it paid off in a big way for Oshie and the Capitals.