Everything was going swimmingly for the Washington Capitals. Alex Ovechkin opened up scoring with two straight goals. Going into intermission, the Caps had a two-goal lead.
Then things changed. Mike Richards scored early in the second. Then, a few minutes later, the Capitals’ first-line center and arguably the team’s best player, Nicklas Backstrom, absorbed a rough hip check near the Caps bench, where the boards meet plexiglass, courtesy of Drew Doughty.
Take a look.
Let’s break it down.
As Backstrom slid along the dasher boards, his left shoulder hit the glass. His torso stopped sliding. His legs went over his head. As he hit the ice, all of his weight seemed to land on his left shoulder.
That looks bad.
Backstrom climbed over the boards and headed to the locker room. The Capitals have said Backstrom is questionable to return.
9:08 PM Update: Here’s a zoomed-in, slo-mo shot of the hit.
