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Capitals: Remembering when Nicklas Backstrom’s overtime heroics put the Blue Jackets on the brink

By Michael Marzzacco

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Nicklas Backstrom #19 of the Washington Capitals celebrates after scoring the game winning goal in the fourth period to give the Capitals a 4-3 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets during Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 21, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Nicklas Backstrom #19 of the Washington Capitals celebrates after scoring the game winning goal in the fourth period to give the Capitals a 4-3 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets during Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 21, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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The Washington Capitals came back to D.C. with their first round series with the Columbus Blue Jackets tied at two.

The Washington Capitals had to come back and overcome a lousy first period but for the first time in the spring of 2018, they would get a playoff win on their home ice. In overtime too. Maybe we should’ve known by then how different that spring was.

Although the Caps were awarded a power play when Thomas Vanek was called for tripping they were caught on the short end when Matt Calvert rushed down the ice and scored a shorthanded goal at 10:08 to give the Blue Jackets an early 1-0 lead.

This was the spring of lucky bounces for the boys in red and that continued here in Game 5 when Nicklas Backstrom‘s shot trickled off David Savard’s skate and off of the back of Sergei Bobrovsky’s helmet into the net to tie the game at 13:22. Chandler Stephenson and Michal Kempny had the assists. 1-1 would be the score after 20.

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In the second, Dmitry Orlov found Evgeny Kuznetsov all alone down the ice for a breakaway which he delivered for his fourth goal of the playoffs to give the Caps the lead at 3:21.

That lead would be short-lived by one of the weirdest breakaway moves by Calvert I’ve ever seen for his second goal of the game at 4:45. He came down and as the net got off he turned to his left and backhanded it in to tie the game.

After the Caps killed off a penalty they got awarded a power play when Josh Anderson went to the sin bin for slashing at 16:29. 13 seconds later T.J. Oshie answered the bell to give the Caps the lead right back.

Oshie’s goal came in a deflection on a shot from downtown by John Carlson. Backstrom had the secondary assist. Oshie’s tip-in went underneath Bobrovsky’s blocker.

The Blue Jackets evened it at 2:30 in the third period on a deflection goal themselves this time from Oliver Bjorkstrand under Braden Holtby‘s arm to square it at three.

That third period saw the Caps being outshot 16-1. That’s a recipe for disaster for any high flying offensive team like the Capitals.

At 11:53 in overtime a shot from Orlov was deflected in front of the net into the goal by Nicklas Backstrom to completely flip the series and give the Caps a 3-2 edge heading back to Columbus.

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Backstrom did it once again.

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