Washington Capitals as Star Wars characters

Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Nicklas Backstrom: R2-D2

R2-D2 is probably the most underrated character in Star Wars. You never really notice him doing anything. But when you think about it, if it wasn’t for R2 saving Princess Leia, Star Wars wouldn’t have been more than a five-minute movie and there certainly wouldn’t be seven Star Wars movies. R2 does all the things that might not get him the attention of, say, Han Solo or Luke Skywalker. R2 doesn’t care. He just wants to help his friends and help his side win. Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals is eerily similar to R2 because of that.

Backstrom and Oshie have become the R2-D2 and C3PO of the Washington Capitals. You could argue that Tom Wilson and Michael Latta fit that comedic relief duo role better, but they rarely share the ice. Backstrom and Oshie do. They’re not comedic, but they’ve been pretty darn efficient together on the first line. Backstrom is a pretty quiet guy just like R2 is when he’s not back sassing C3PO. The spotlight might be on other guys, but Backstrom doesn’t care about that. He just wants to win.

R2 is also the droid of Luke Skywalker and works extremely well with him, following him wherever he goes. This will be relevant later on.

Now we hit the more obvious comparisons.

Next: Chewbacca