Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom is a playmaker. No matter how long he lasts in the NHL that description will not change. And with a goal-scoring machine like Alex Ovechkin usually playing alongside him on Washington’s top line, it is a decidedly good trait to possess.
But while Backstrom’s skill at setting up goal-scoring chances can leave even teammates and coaches gushing, there are still times he should be more selfish on the ice. Why move the puck for another opportunity when you have one right in front of you? It’s a conundrum every top playmaker puzzles over during his career. What is the proper balance between pass and shot?
“You do tell guys a lot to shoot more, but it’s ingrained in their DNA,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said. “They’re just great passers and they see the ice so well and they’re so unselfish with the puck that they probably have to tell themselves ‘Shoot more, shoot more.’ Because it’s not a natural thing. And I don’t know if that’s the case with Nick. I just know that’s the case with a lot of tremendous passers.”
Backstrom admits as much. Entering Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Stars at Verizon Center, he is tied for the NHL lead with 13 assists. Twice Backstrom has finished a season third in assists. As a rookie in 2007-08 he was 11th overall. Last season – even after missing five games and playing for weeks with a painful broken thumb – he still managed 47 assists. That was a career-low. But only 17 players had more.
Backstrom is off to a fine start this season, shaking off last spring’s struggles when he managed just three goals and 11 assists over the final 25 games, including the Stanley Cup playoffs. The initial injury happened Feb. 21 against Pittsburgh.
So far, Backstrom also has five goals to go with his league-high 13 assists and leads Washington with 18 points. The 23-year-old Swede was named the NHL’s Third Star on Monday after posting two points in each of his team’s three games last week, including the game-tying and game-winning goals on Nov. 1 against Anaheim. Minnesota goalie Josh Harding was named first star and Dallas forward Loui Eriksson, who Washington must deal with on Tuesday, earned second star.
“You play better when you’re healthy and I was struggling a little bit there with my thumb,” Backstrom said. “But it wasn’t an excuse last year. Just things that happen that you have to deal with. Honestly, I feel better now.”
Yet for all the flak he takes about passing up his own scoring chances, Backstrom has improved in that area. He scored 33 goals on 222 shots in 2009-10, after all. Among NHL centers that shot total ranked 13ththat season. Last year he dipped slightly to 202 – but his 2.62 shots per game were indistinguishable from the 2.71 he fired on goal the year before. Compare that to Backstrom’s rookie year when he managed just 1.87 shots per game.
That upward trend has continued this season. While still setting the table for his teammates, Backstrom has 34 shots on goal in 12 games. That pace equals 2.83 shots per game – or about 232 if he manages to play all 82 games. He had 28 shots through the same stretch at this point last November.
“I haven’t really noticed anything different except maybe he’s shooting a little more. But I haven’t even checked the statistics to see if he is or if he’s not,” Boudreau said. “But Nicky, whether he’s scoring or he’s not scoring, is such a contributor at both ends of the ice that you never know as a coach if he’s playing a bad game or a good game if you just look at offensive statistics. Because he’s always doing the right things.”
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