Washington Capitals: Predicting the Top Five Goal Scorers for 2021-2022
By David Atlas
#2 T.J. Oshie
TJ Oshie has scored 30 or more goals once in his career, back in 2016-2017 with the Capitals. He’ll do it again in 2021-22. After a more normal off-season to rest, Osh will anchor the bumper position on the power-play and score 31-34 goals in the upcoming season.
In a shortened season a year ago, Oshie’s 20.8 shooting percentage was the second-highest of his career. Not many players set career-highs at age 34 but Oshie might just be an exception. With a more manageable schedule, Laviolette and the coaching staff will be able to manage the team’s age better than what was possible last season.
In addition to the schedule, Oshie is another player who saw a significant increase in offensive-zone starts last season in Laviolette’s system. A career-average of 54 was blown away a year ago. Oshie saw 70.4 of his zone starts in the offensive zone. Deployment like that puts him in positions to score and it’s no secret that TJ Oshie has elite finishing capabilities. Barring injury, 30 goals for Oshebabe should be the expectation.