Photo: Washington Capitals
For the last eight seasons, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom have been one of the league’s top performing duos– the cheese to one other’s macaroni, if you will. Friday, on the first day of the Capitals’ 2015-16 Training Camp, the straw-haired Swedish superstar center was asked just what it is that makes number eight so great.
“It’s his shot,” Backstrom said. “There’s no one in the league that shoots as good as he does. I mean, I think for the goalies that I’ve heard (from) – I talk to goalies – it’s so hard for them to read his shot. It’s quick too. And he can shoot from all of the angles. A lot of people can’t do that the way he can. That’s why he knows how to put it in.”
You’ll remember a few months ago back in July, Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Jonathan Quick made a similar statement to The Player’s Tribune:
Guys like Ovi shoot it so hard that it’s almost like you’re a batter in baseball. You see the blur of the puck coming at you in frames. One frame, two frames … by the third frame it’s already hitting you. If you’re trying to make a reaction save against Ovi, you’re already beat.
Even if Backstrom’s off-season hip surgery delays the reunion– the team suggested he may miss up to the first ten games of the season (Oct. 31) — Ovi will likely continue to terrify goalies because of that hard slap shot.
