Caps 5, Ducks 4 (OT)
Just like the old days at Verizon Center. The Caps fell behind 3-0, clawed their way back into the game, gave up a deflating goal in the third period and still came back for more. In the end, Nicklas Backstrom scored a 6-on-5 goal with 42 seconds left to tie the Anaheim Ducks and then added another at 2 minutes, 18 seconds of overtime to win it. Check out our game story here as Washington improved to 8-2 on the year with 16 standings points.
Backstrom had just been denied by Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller (35 saves, 40 shots) from the slot with 52 seconds left – a pad save that sent the puck into the right corner. But John Carlson and Brooks Laich won a battle down low for the puck and Laich sent a pass out front to Jason Chimera at the right circle. Hiller stopped his shot, but the rebound came right to Backstrom over in the left circle. He didn’t miss.
“He’s a great player. Nicky is such a patient player, such a skilled guy,” Washington goalie Tomas Vokoun said. “Most of the people have a panic point. His is a little bit farther than everybody else. It just makes him so smooth. What can I say? It’s not just tonight. It’s pretty to watch him play.”
On the game winner Backstrom carries the puck up the ice, gives Alex Ovechkin a little head nod and they criss-cross at the blueline. He drops the puck to Ovechkin, knocks over Andrew Cogliano and watches as Ovechkin’s shot is blocked into the far corner and around the boards. But give defenseman Jeff Schultz credit for jumping into the play 4-on-4 and punching the puck towards the net from the left side. Cogliano gets there late because, well, he was on the ice. Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky also is a step slow. Shultz sends the puck in front, Ovechkin tips it and Backstrom is all alone at the back post and beats Hiller.
Make it four goals and 10 assists for Backstrom on the season. That leads the Caps. But don’t expect the 23-year-old Swede to go all sniper on us. He just needs to take advantage of his opportunities.
“I don’t think Nicky’s going to change his game but when he gets those opportunities the one thing we can keep reminding him is how good a shot he has,” Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. “And when he gets his shot away it’s really good. He should have scored 10 seconds before that when he had it in the slot and Hiller made a great save on him. But he’s got a good shot. We hope he uses it more.”
It’s a nice start to the year for a player who whose numbers were down even before a broken thumb last Feb. 21 in Pittsburgh. Backstrom played with the injury for a while, eventually missed five and was never the same. He dropped from 33 goals and 68 assists (101 points) to 18 goals and 47 assists (65 points). Backstrom finished the season without a goal in his final 17 games and had just two assists in the postseason. The Caps have said he was healthy at the end. It sure didn’t look it.
“[Backstrom] didn’t have the greatest season. But he didn’t lose his ability to play hockey,” Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. “I think he’s back to where he was. I think he’s always been a great player. He didn’t score last year as much. But the whole league didn’t score. The whole team didn’t score. The power play didn’t score. His numbers were way down. But he still led the team in ice time and played a ton of minutes for us and we won the [Eastern] conference. We relied on him heavily.”
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