10 years later: Remembering T.J. Oshie’s Sochi shootout heroics

ST. LOUIS – Thursday marks one decade since former St. Louis Blues fan favorite T.J. Oshie shined on the Olympic stage, leading Team USA to victory over Russia behind an epic shootout performance.

T.J. Oshie didn’t go home with a medal, but he etched his name into Olympic lore with an unforgettable effort, arguably the best individual moment ever for a Blues player on the international stage.

On Feb. 15, 2014, Oshie scored four shootout goals, including the game-winner, during a preliminary playoff round matchup in Sochi, Russia. It sparked USA to a thrilling 3-2 win for an upset on Russia’s native grounds.

A close back-and-forth affair went into overtime tied at 2-2. After a scoreless overtime, it trudged on to the shootout. Then came a combined 16 shootout attempts between USA and Russia, a big test of resilience for goaltenders Jonathan Quick (USA) and Sergei Bobrovsky (RUS) against some of the nation’s top playmakers.

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Like an NHL shootout, both teams were asked to choose three skaters for the first three rounds of shootouts. Unlike and NHL shootout, in cases where the game wasn’t decided after the first three shootout rounds, teams could choose anyone they wanted for the shootout any number of times. That paved the path for Sochi Oshie’s token Olympic moment.

Oshie led off the shootout in Team USA and beat Bobrovsky between the legs. The next four skaters were stopped before Ilya Kovalchuk kept Russia’s hopes alive with a goal on the last required attempt.

After the first three skaters on each team, the shootout order flipped back to where Russia led off each additional shootout round. Kovalchuk started the fourth round and missed. Oshie followed and missed.

Russia flip-flopped between Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk while USA kept its trust in Oshie. He matched Russia goals on two occasions. Eventually, in his sixth shootout attempt and the game’s 16th, Oshie beats Bobrovsky through the wickets once again and put the finishing touches on a big comeback win.

Hockey fans refer to the performance as the “Sochi Oshie” or “T.J. Oshie” game. Some from America even dubbed Oshie a hero, though he embraced the new glory with humbleness.

“The American heroes are wearing camo. That’s not me,” said Oshie after the shootout win.

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For the box score from Oshie’s big shootout game, click here. For YouTube’s archives of the shootout, click here

The 2014 season marked Oshie’s only time competing in the Winter Olympics. Aside from the shootout, he ended up with one goal and three assists over six games. USA went undefeated in the preliminary rounds before an early exit in the Olympic quarterfinals.

Oshie’s run in St. Louis after that was short-lived after that. The Blues traded him to the Washington Capitals in 2015, where he has since played eight seasons and won a Stanley Cup in 2018.

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