On a night when the Capitals honored Nicklas Backstrom for passing Peter Bondra for second place on the franchise’s all-time points list, the sweet Swede took a bow for the fans (not literally; he tersely acknowledged the achievement).
Just 3:51 into the game, with Ovechkin crashing like a furious Ferrari, he found Slick Nick in the slot and Backy slung it past Keith Kinkaid to make it 1-0 Capitals after twenty minutes.
Second period ahead…