Photo credit: Trevor Hagan
The Capitals were kind of a mess throughout Tuesday’s 5-4 win over the Winnipeg Jets. The game was tied after a wacky second period (featuring the Ovisplosion), and it took Nick Backstrom’s mystical Swedish skills and Troy Brouwer‘s finishing ability to restore a Caps lead.
It was the only pretty thing in an ugly (but happy!) game, so let’s give it a closer look.
The Caps were on the power play, and, naturally, it was ugly.
A scrum in the corner resulted in what seemed like a clear for Winnipeg, but Alex Ovechkin splayed out and got a desperate stick out to keep the puck in play. That gave Troy Brouwer room to pass to Nicky Backstrom on the weak side.
And now for the pretty:
Swede-on-Swede action: Tobias Enstrom extended his stick and took a knee to take away Backstrom’s angle. Were he any ordinary human, Backstrom would have been stymied. Instead, he curl-and-drag’d around it –seemingly effortlessly.
Marcus Johansson was waiting at the doorstep, and Backstrom sent a backhand pass towards him, but Mojo was not the target. Closing in quick was Troy Brouwer, wide open with a head of steam. Brouwer roofed it. A skill goal out of chaos.
Nick Backstrom has 10 points in 9 games and a winning smile.
