Nicklas Backstrom’s OT goal for Capitals evens series with Islanders
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Facing a 3-1 series deficit, the Capitals received contributions from their two biggest stars and beat the New York Islanders 2-1 in overtime. Nicklas Backstrom scored for the third straight game as Washington evened the series 2-2 with Game 5 Thursday night in D.C.
Star number one was captain Alex Ovechkin, who deflected a John Carlson shot for a 1-0 lead 13:06 into the game. The early lead was big for the Capitals, as they had failed to score first in each of the first three games of the series after posting a 37-2-2 record, tops in the NHL, during the regular season when doing so.
In the second period, the Capitals opened the door time and time again, giving the Islanders every opportunity to take the lead. That door was the penalty box, and with the game tied at one after Casey Cizikas’ late first period goal, New York tried to get its struggling power play going.
The game, according to Backstrom, was won in that second frame when the Capitals took three penalties in a 5:12 span. Washington killed each of them off, keeping the Islanders without a power play goal in 10 opportunities through four games.
“One mistake, one shot can cost you a game,” said Ovechkin. “We did a great job to handle the pressure.”
The atmosphere inside Nassau Coliseum was again loud and boisterous, and with an overtime chance for the Islanders to go up 3-1 in the series, they had their shot, but Backstrom silenced everyone 11:09 into the extra frame:
The goal was a perfect example of what Washington didn’t do enough of in Game 3: create havoc in front of Jaroslav Halak. The Islanders netminder saw just about everything on Sunday afternoon and many of the Capitals’ shots were fired directly into his chest.
“It’s a good job by [Joel] Ward in front of the net there,” said Backstrom, whose performance in Game 4 was described as “all-world” by Capitals head coach Barry Trotz. “Without him there, it wouldn’t be a goal.”
“It’s standard in this league. In order to score you’ve got to get traffic,” said Ward.
Now the Capitals can breathe a bit as they head back to Verizon Center for Game 4. It’s a best-of-three series now with both teams on even ground.
“This game could have gone either way,” said Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik. “Obviously 3-1 or 2-2, that’s a big difference. You always look at this game as a big swing game.
“Nothing’s going to be easy the rest of the series. It will all be like it was tonight.”
Backstrom’s two-point night gives him six overall and puts him atop the NHL’s scoring list through a week of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He finished sixth in scoring during the regular season, yet seems to fly under the radar in conversations about the league’s elite players.
On the ice, Backstrom is a picture of calm while carrying the puck and his vision as a playmaking center ranks among the best in the league. While Ovechkin may have the big personality, score 50-plus goals annually and wear the captain’s ‘C’ for Washington, there’s no doubt that the Capitals follow the Swedish pivot’s lead.
“He’s been on for a long time, not just tonight,” said Orpik. “He just quietly leads by example every day. I think he kind of sets the tone for this team, practice, games.
“I don’t think anyone is surprised that he was the one who came up with that shot.”
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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