This is how legends are born. Work was the reason he was riding the Metro, to get to  Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, the final destination for T.J. Oshie’s train ride Monday.

“I had a little mishap today,” the Washington Capitals winger said.

His card wasn’t working. Luckily, Metro employees recognized Oshie and led him through the turnstiles, and soon he was up the escalator and en route to the arena.

“I’m not gonna name him, but someone that [loaned] me one of their cards only had 35 cents on it. So Metro, I don’t know how much that ride was, but I owe you,” Oshie said.

Whose card was it?

“That’s actually my fault,” said Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen, who rode with Oshie on the Metro. “I gave him the card, and it didn’t have enough funds on it. I’m a cheap-ass.”

The Metro card snafu has already become the stuff of legend. Oshie was handed a card with sufficient funds by ESPN’s Steve Levy during a SportsCenter appearance Monday after the Capitals defeated the Golden Knights in Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

This is how you never pay for another meal the rest of your life, or pay for the Metro ever again.