Nicklas Backstrom played in what Brynäs IF termed, per a Grok translation, his “first competitive match since the comeback,” on Thursday.
He did not disappoint.
In front of 4,712 in attendance at Monitor ERP Arena, Backstrom notched an assist on Brynäs’s game-winning goal and also threw a big hit in his team’s 4-2 win over Austria’s KAC Klagenfurt.
“Fun but also a bit nice to have it done now,” Backstrom told Gelfe Dagblad after the game, as translated by Google Translate. “I hope we can play a more complete match, it would feel good for the confidence before the SHL premiere next Saturday.”
Backstrom’s assist came on a Jakob Silfverberg power-play goal 9:02 into the third period, which gave Brynäs a 3-1 lead. Backstrom dished to Johan Larsson, who found Silfverberg at the far post for a layup.
“It’s important that the power play works, so it’s nice that it worked,” Backstrom said.
Earlier in the game, Backstrom dished out a rare but huge body check on Danish defenseman Jesper Jensen Aabo. The pivot hit Jensen Aabo in the left shoulder and back area, sending him flying into the boards.
“We were just trying to win the puck back,” Backstrom said, downplaying his decking of the KAC Klagenfurt regrguard.
Backstrom, who skated on the first line, finished the game a minus-one and with two shots, two blocked shots, and eight of 12 faceoffs won in 17:43 of ice time. The TOI ranked second among forwards (Anton Rödin, 17:55) and fourth-most among all Brynäs skaters (Michal Kempny, 18:28; Christian Djoos, 18:20).
He also came close to scoring his first goal. With an open net, Backstrom shot the puck into the goaltender.
“It was a so-called ‘muffin,'” Backstrom said, using a line Alex Ovechkin once said at the 2025 NHL All-Star Skills Competition. “But it will come.”
Former Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny also notched a point in the game, a primary assist on Brynäs’s first goal of the night, scored by Tyler Vesel.
Backstrom has points in all three games he’s played since signing with Brynäs IF, posting 4 points, two assists each, in his preview two preseason games.
The win was Brynäs’s second in the group stage of the Champions Hockey League — an in-season European hockey tournament. The former Capitals legend did not suit up in Brynäs’s 5-0 win over Mountfield HK on Sunday or their 4-1 loss to Kometa Brno on Friday. Through Thursday’s matchups, Brynäs now sits sixth overall in the Champion Hockey League standings.
Brynäs will suit up again on Saturday against the ZSC Zurich Lions.
Lines
Forwards
#23 Oskar Lindblom – #19 Nicklas Bäckström – #18 Anton Rödin
#71 Axel Jonsson Fjällby – #10 Johan Larsson – #33 Jakob Silfverberg
#81 Kieffer Bellows – #41 Greg Scott – #52 Jack Kopacka
#47 Lucas Pettersson – #20 Tyler Vesel – #36 Linus Ölund
#38 Gustav Hillstrom
Defensemen
#24 Aron Dahlqvist – #14 Robert Hägg
#5 Michal Kempný – #28 Johannes Kinnvall
#3 Christian Djoos – #27 Mattias Norlinder
#2 Victor Hedin Raftheim
Goalkeepers
#45 Damian Clara
#61 Collin Delia
#30 Oscar Westman
