You can't tell the story of Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin chasing down the goals record without mentioning Nicklas Backstrom. Although his injury has kept him from being on the ice, Backstrom remains in full support of his best friend. And naturally like any best friend would, they want to be there for it.
Backstrom will travel with Capitals as Ovi gets closer
Nicklas Backstrom has assisted on 279 of Alex Ovechkin's 888 goals which is more than any other player and has the Caps franchise lead in assists. Backstrom will join Wayne Gretzky and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who previously announced they'll travel too to see the moment live.
Other close friends like Alex Semin and Ilya Kovalchuk said they also plan to be therre for the milestone. Backstrom stepped away from the team due to injury back in November of 2023 and has been around the team on and off even though he's unable to play.
The 37 year old joined the team on a four game road trip last season and participated in various on and off ice ceremonies which included the team's recent Rock the Red Era night where lucky fans took home Ovechkin-Backstrom duo bobbleheads.
There was a time Backstrom came back to the ice this season albeit it was at their practice rink and it was while he was practicing with Ovechkin, who was recovering from his mid November injury.
When Ovechkin reached 800 goals in Chicago, Backstrom was hurt that night but that didn't stop him from hugging his best friend after the hat trick and showering him with booze. Although the two are close, Backstrom wants all the credit and the spotlight on the captain once he reaches 895.
"Obviously this is all him. I'm not going to take any credit for that."Nicklas Backstrom
Backstrom would elaborate more when he was told by Monumental Sports Network's Tarik El-Bashir, "Someone had to pass him the puck, Nick!"
"Yeah I get that. But I'm not going to take away his moment to shine. I just feel like I've been fortunate to be, first of all, playing for the same organization for many years, and playing with him. I think we should probably thank Bruce Boudreau for putting us together. "Nicklas Backstrom
So what is it really like when you're Alex Ovechkin's top set up guy?
"Biggest takeaway was probably explaining to him that he wasn't always open, but he wanted the puck the whole time. I honestly think the first time we started plaing with each other - I just think that we were a good match. I was more of a playmaker and he was a goal scorer, so I just think that was a good matchup," recalled Backstrom.
"And don't forget the third guy we had on our lines over the years, too, because they were - you have (Mike) Knuble, (Viktor) Kozlov, all the players we played with (have) been incredibly important."
"I think I said, maybe four years ago or something like that when this conversion started to happen, 'Could he do it?' And I always said that if there's any guy who could do it, it's him. He's capable of it, and we're seeing it right now. He's sitting here, seven goals away, and he's going to do it. It's just a matter of time. That's the kind of goal scorer he is. Sometimes it seems like the puck just finds him, you know? And he's got that ability to put the puck in the net like no one else. "Nicklas Backstrom