Nicklas Backstrom was the Capitals’ hero against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
Tied 2-2 after regulation and overtime, the Caps-Pens game was decided in a shootout.
There, Backstrom’s name was called in the third inning and he scored on his forehand, sealing a huge division rivalry win and an extra standings point for the Capitals. The victory moved the Capitals into sole possession of the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Cool as a cucumber, Backstrom skated towards Casey DeSmith and deftly placed the puck over Casey DeSmith’s right pad for what would end up being the game-winning goal.
SWEET SWEET NICKY SHOOTOUT WINNER pic.twitter.com/ne30SWhxwB
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 27, 2023
Backstrom, who missed Tuesday’s game against Colorado, only received only 10:13 of ice time in his return from illness. But he still managed to make his impact felt with his skill. Backstrom tallied the primary assist on Marcus Johansen’s goal, which initially put the Caps up 2-1 in the third period.
Right on the money 🤑 pic.twitter.com/OtwO50BPSJ
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 27, 2023
After the game, Backstromreceived the signature yellow rope from Tom Wilson to honor his goal during the shootout.
"Nothing better than beating those guys"#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/KFVhPa9O3x
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 27, 2023
“Nothing better than beating those guys,” Wilson said. “This guy has worked extremely hard, nice winner there in the shootout, my guy!”
The Capitals applauded and Tom and Nicke hugged.
During his postgame press conference, Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette singled out Backstrom for his big plays.
“Really nice play on the assist, just the delay for him,” Lavy said on the play. “He’s so good at that, seeing things happen before they happen.”
Setting up goals like Johansson’s seem to come so naturally for Backstrom. He didn’t have much to say about the goal postgame.
“I just saw the guy coming at me and I was just trying to drag him to me, then I saw Marcus standing there,” Backstrom said. “It was a great shot so I’ll take it.”
However, the Swede was quite excited for his game-winning shooting goal that put the team over the top. Backstrom doesn’t usually shoot third in the lineup when he he gets his number called, and he was excited to put the nail in the coffin of the Pens.
“Usually the ice is so bad so I was trying to shoot this time,” Backstrom said. “It’s always good to get a chance to do shootout and it was nice to get a win too, that’s all that matters.”
Lavy thought that Backstrom’s overtime goal and his assist was a big step for him and his confidence in his return.
“I think the shootout and getting him going…that was a big thing for our team to have him going in and scoring a goal like that. Maybe that pushes the offense even more for him with regard to scoring goals,” Laviolette said. “I thought it was a really nice play on the goal and obviously the shootout is big.”
8 & 19 🤗 pic.twitter.com/QBodA3vUMt
— HockeyKot (@hockeykot) January 27, 2023
Screenshot: @Capitals/Twitter
