Alex Ovechkin achieved one of the biggest accomplishments of his career on Tuesday when he hit the 800 career goals milestone. Nearly everything about the moment was perfect: it came via a hat trick, in a win, and there were no empty netters involved.
But there was one negative. Ovi hit the mark without his longtime center and running mate, Nicklas Backstrom, on the ice.
Thankfully, Ovi did not have to wait long to run into his close friend.
Inside the locker room, Backstrom took part in a beer bath where Caps players drenched their captain in his favorite beer: Bud Light.
Once the players dispersed, Backstrom handed Ovechkin a can of his own and gave him a huge hug. (The video is cued up to the moment.)
Backstrom is a huge reason why Ovechkin was able to reach this mark. Backstrom assisted on 278 of Ovechkin’s 800 career goals – a whopping 34.7 percent.
Backstrom was unable to play in the game due to major surgery he had on his hip over the summer. The Swedish playmaker went under the knife with the hopes that the procedure will extend his career. Backstrom has been practicing with the team since late November. The Capitals’ two-game road trip, which took the team to Winnipeg and Chicago, was the first time he joined the team on the road this season.
After the two teammates hugged, Tom Wilson had Ovechkin and Backstrom take a photo together with the milestone hat trick of pucks.
The moment was reminiscent of the Capitals’ Stanley Cup victory where Ovechkin handed Backstrom the championship trophy first after he skated it around the ice.
🥹#Gr800 pic.twitter.com/N7dT1bi0mr
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 14, 2022
There are no two players that exemplify Capitals hockey more than Ovechkin and Backstrom. It’s so great they were able to share this moment together. Because if they didn’t, it wouldn’t have felt right.
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