Washington Capitals Unable to Turn Hitting T.J. Oshie's Butt With Sticks Into On-Ice Success

" New pregame ritual? #CapsRoomies pic.twitter.com/VueeMTiYOR — #RockTheRed (@washcaps) May 2, 2016 "

T.J. Oshie and the Washington Capitals were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday, dropping their second round series to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 6 games. Thus ends another promising (They had a league-leading 120 points in the standings this year!), but ultimately disappointing season for the Caps. The one bright spot was the fact that they apparently decided to spend the latter part of the season slapping Oshie in the butt with their sticks. Luckily, Dan Steinberg got to the bottom of the story right before the Caps’ season ended. It turns the slap/slash/pats are motivational.

"How hard do they hit him? “We switch it up, depending on how we played last game,” Latta said. “It depends. If we played good last game, we just give him a little tap, just to get him going a bit.” And if the team played poorly the last game? “Hit him harder, yeah,” Latta said. “It’s fun.” “Depending on the day,” Wilson agreed. “If we think he needs it or not.”"

Oshie better be very careful next season. The Capitals haven’t made a Conference Finals since 1998. The frustration could turn into a team-sanctioned beating.