Sixty-six seconds. That’s the total duration Nate Schmidt was on the ice in Game Three before he served Nicklas Backstrom a perfect pass to put the Caps up.
It was Washington’s first 4-on-4 goal of the entire season.
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Schmidt's got wheels! #RockTheRed @csnma pic.twitter.com/maQeE4ukjC
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 17, 2017
Justin Williams and Morgan Rielly were both in the box — the former for holding, the latter for embellishment.
Schmidt was instrumental in the breakout and then the zone entry. Heading deep into the Leafs zone, Schmidt served it back to Backstrom, who was crashing towards Freddie Andersen.
It’s Backstrom’s second goal this series, and just as impactful as his last.
Schmidt was a game-time decision, stepping in for Karl Alzner, who is day-to-day with an upper body injury. Including the regular season, Schmidt has points in four of his last seven games.
The Caps scored 261 goals during the regular season, but somehow none of them came at 4-on-4. That ends tonight as the Caps take an early lead.
With his goal, Nicklas Backstrom (22) passed Dino Ciccarelli (21) for fourth place on the #Caps playoff goals list.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) April 17, 2017
Nate Schmidt on Nicklas Backstrom’s goal: “If you put it on his tape you ain’t gonna make a mistake.” pic.twitter.com/sEk35S1Eq1
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) April 18, 2017
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