Backstrom Shines on Broadway

Alex Ovechkin had two helpers. Alex Semin had two goals and an assist. 20 year-old Simeon Varlamov had a 33 save shut-out.

But the story of Game Three was oft-forgotten superstar Nicklas Backstrom.

Backstrom turned in a truly "Foresbergian" effort. He initiated contact while maintaining control of the puck, won face-offs, killed penalties, and most importantly, made the key play on three of the Caps' four strikes.

The fact that Backstrom gets as few accolades as he does has always left me disgruntled. People love to credit him as being the lucky S.O.B. who plays with Ovechkin.

That's far from the case.

Once heralded as the best player outside of the NHL, only a year after he was drafted, no less, Backstrom has been an absolute force in his first two seasons in the big leagues, registering 157 points in 164 regular season games to go along with 10 points in 10 playoff tilts.

Backstrom plays a very similar game to that of a fellow Swede you might have heard of, Peter Forsberg. He initiates contact while still controlling the puck down low, has elite vision, soft hands, and a willingness to to play in all three zones.

Sure, the Caps' rookie goaltender also had a phenomenal performance...a 33 save shutout...in his first NHL back-to-back start...under the brightest lights in the Western Hemisphere.

But, I credit a lot of that to the Caps' excellent play in their defensive zone, combined with a large number of perimeter shots with little traffic that Varlamov was able to gobble right up. Don't get me wrong, though, the kid played a heckuva game inbetween the pipes.

The Rangers just didn't bring it tonight. Too much standing around. Not enough discipline. A failure to drive to the net. Not enough quality shots. A horrendous outing by the Mara and Morris pairing.

Chris Drury's injury is clearly affecting his ability to perform. He still cannot take face-offs, and Tortarella is only able to use him sparingly, and not at all on the penalty-kill.

Avery was an asset for the Caps tonight. 18 Pims. But, I'm sure he really sent Varlamov a message at the end of the game...that is, if Avery can speak fluently in Russian.

The turning point of the affair came virtue of a missed empty net by Ryan Callahan, who was hindered by the aforementioned Backstrom. Just seconds later, Semin was able to convert a Backstrom pass for his, and the Caps', second goal of the game.

The Rangers will need to turn in a much better perfomance in Game Four, or they will find themseleves going back to Capital City in a deadlock...