David Backes on T.J. Oshie's Hat Trick Vs Rangers: ‘Coach Osh Was Skating Along With You'

Oshie's heartfelt exchange with Backes after emotional hat trick originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

May 5 was an emotional night for a couple of former St. Louis Blues stars. 

In Washington, T.J. Oshie returned from a one-game absence following the death of his father, Tim, who as affectionately known as "Coach Osh." In a game against the Rangers where the extracurriculars became the storyline, Oshie rose above it all with an emotional hat trick performance to honor his dad.

A little over 800 miles away was another former Blues star getting a bit emotional. Anaheim Ducks forward David Backes' likely last game in the Enterprise Center, where he played 10 seasons for St. Louis and seven with Oshie, was given a standing ovation from the Blues faithful and named the No. 1 star after 10:32 of play time on the ice. 

It was quite the heart-warming moment for both. 

"Yeah, a couple of crybabies," Backes told the 31 Thoughts Podcast in jest. "We learned that together that grown men ain't scared to cry, maybe that's from having daughters or what." 

Though Backes hasn't officially announced that he'll be retiring after the season, the 37-year-old appears to be headed in that direction. Backes captained the Blues for five seasons and remains good friends with Oshie to this day. The veteran forward sent Oshie a text to check-in after he'd heard about Coach Osh's passing earlier in the week, including a note at the end making sure Oshie knew he didn't have to respond. 

"He texts me right back, and I'm like this guy is one of the best teammates and real dudes," Backes said on the podcast. 

But after Backes got back from his emotional night in St. Louis and saw the amazing night Oshie had, he was ready to send Oshie another message congratulating him on honoring his late father with a stellar performance. 

"He texts me before I could text him, like 'It was awesome to see that tonight and you're one of the best,' or something like that," Backes said. "I'm like, 'Are you kidding me? You went out there and scored a hat trick after your dad died. Coach Osh was skating along with you tonight, that's pretty amazing.'"

RELATED: T.J. Oshie feels the support in emotional week after father's death

That's a touching sentiment from Backes as a former teammate still close to Oshie and knowing how much his relationship with his father meant to him. Though, Oshie's selflessness to send a congratulatory text to Backes instead of dwelling on his memorable night was nothing new to Backes. 

"My story with him in 2014 in Sochi where he does the shootout thing, wins the game for us and I go back to the room -- we're roommates -- he comes back an hour and a half later after doing NBC," Backes said. "He comes back there and he's got makeup on and he's like, 'Don't you think they're blowing this a little out of proportion?' I'm like, 'You have no idea what you just did.' He's down to earth, just does his thing, loves to do it and that's just the kind of guy he is."

Even after Oshie became "Captain America" following his couple of vital scores in that shootout against Russia in those Winter Olympic games, he remained humble. It's exactly the kind of character Caps fans have come to expect from their No. 77. 

"Those are the friendships and connections you relish," Backes said. 

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