After losing in the second round to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nicklas Backstrom arrived in Cologne, Germany, a little over a week ago for the 2017 World Championship. Backstrom ended up centering one of the most dangerous lines of the tournament, made up of World Championship MVP William Nylander and Oscar Lindberg.
On Sunday, after tallying seven points in five games, Backstrom and Team Sweden won gold after defeating Canada 2-1 in a thrilling shootout. It was the first time Sweden has ever beat Canada in a World Championship gold medal game. It was the country’s first World Championship since 2013.
Backstrom and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored Sweden’s shootout goals while goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped all four shots he faced.
After watching Lundqvist making the gold-medal winning save on Canada’s Mitch Marner, Team Sweden jumped off the bench with glee.
William Nylander was the first to reach Lundqvist, violently hugging the Rangers goaltender to the ice. Backstrom was one of the first players to reach the celebrating group, ending up on the bottom of the pig pile.
Backy’s linemate Nylander was named MVP minutes later. Backstrom was the first to congratulate to him, exchanging pleasantries and smiles as he made it back to the Team Sweden blue line.
Backstrom was the second Team Sweden player to receive a medal.
While waiting for the Swedish national anthem to play, Backstrom gave a dorky thumbs up.
Sweden was next given the World Championship trophy, which Henrik Lundqvist’s brother Joel, the team’s captain, accepted.
Backstrom had an opportunity to raise the trophy himself while celebrating on the ice with his team.
Finally, Team Sweden saluted the crowd with this synchronized arm thing.
This is the second time Backstrom has won gold with Sweden. He also won the World Championship with Team Sweden in 2006 (Riga, Latvia).
Sunday marked Backstrom’s tenth anniversary of signing his first NHL contract with the Washington Capitals.
RMNB is not associated with the Washington Capitals; Monumental Sports, the NHL, or its properties. Not even a little bit.
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