I'm not quite sure what has happened lately, but Nicklas Backstrom has finally hit his stride over the last few games. After notching only 4 assists, all on the powerplay, in his first twelve games, Backstrom has picked up the pace, putting up 12 points in his last 5 games. He's also a plus 10 in that span. His pass to Ovechkin for the tying goal with no time left was threaded through the crowd perfectly.
The fortunes of Backstrom and Ovechkin on the ice seem to be tied together. While Backstrom has 12 points in his last 5 games, Ovechkin has 13 points in his last 6. That's after posting only 5 points in his first 9 games. When Backstrom has his game on, he can hit Ovie from anywhere on the ice. And that is a dangerous thing for opposing teams. And in addition to scoring, they can hold their own in the defensive end, coming out of last night's game with a +3 rating each. Backstrom and Mike Green are tied for 3rd in the league at +11, while Ovechkin and Semin are tied for the lead at +17. It's always a good thing when your top line guys are putting up big numbers while not giving up goals against.
On the other hand the defense was horrendous. There were missed assignments and a clear lack of communication. Theodore actually had a decent game, and really kept the Caps in it despite giving up the 5 goals.
"Obviously (the defense) was a problem," Boudreau said. "If it wasn't for Theo it would have been 6-3 going into the third. I can't fault him. I praised him quite frankly. The second period alone they had so many good chances...I kept saying: 'Geez we're still in this.' It didn't seem like we deserved to be in it."
Apparently losing big is the thing that sets off the Capitals, because ever since their 5-0 blowout by Buffalo, they have been on a tear. The Peerless sums it up the best.
Since losing to Buffalo, 5-0, on the first day of the month, the Caps are now 5-0-2, and this was the first of those seven games in which the Caps gave up more than two goals. As if one needed reminding, offense makes the highlights, but defense wins in the end. All-in-all, a point earned is a good thing, especially when you didn
