Nicklas Backstrom started slowly last season - his first in the NHL - with one goal and nine points in the 21 games before Bruce Boudreau became coach.
The 20-year-old center has just one assist in five contests before the Washington Capitals’ Tuesday night tilt in Calgary. While Backstrom hasn’t yet generated the offense expected of him, he and his teammates aren’t panicking.
“I think it is OK,” Backstrom said. “I think it is coming - bad bounces and things like that. We’re winning, so as long as the team is winning, it doesn’t matter who scores. … It’s just five games - we’ll see what happens.”
Added captain Chris Clark, who was his linemate the past two games: “It is just his second year. You might be able to say that if he does it a lot during the next 15 years, but he’s young. He’s still developing and coming into his own. I don’t think you can put that label on him that’s he a slow starter at all and especially at this point in his career.”
There were a couple of reasons for Backstrom’s slow start in his rookie year. Coach Glen Hanlon wanted to ease him into the league, so Backstrom played left wing on a line with Michael Nylander instead of his natural position.
Once Boudreau took over, Backstrom scored 60 points in the Caps’ remaining 61 regular-season games.
This season didn’t start as planned for Backstrom, either. An ankle injury during an informal skate at Kettler Capitals Iceplex kept him out during the early part of training camp.
“I think last year was a little different. He was a first-year guy just getting to know the league,” Boudreau said. “This year, I don’t know. He’s getting a lot more ice time than he was this time last year. Maybe his ankle was bothering him more than I knew and he’s just starting to feel good about it.”
Backstrom’s performance Saturday night against New Jersey supports Boudreau’s statement. After having a couple of games earlier this season where he failed to stand out, Backstrom was Washington’s best skater against the Devils.
He weaved through opponents with the puck on his stick and generated multiple scoring opportunities for himself and his linemates. Backstrom skated a season-high 23:21, proof that Boudreau saw his elevated play.
“He had great vision,” Boudreau said. “He had a couple of really good scoring chances that he didn’t score on. You could see he was ready to play, and that’s a big thing. Sometimes, it takes something very simple like a goal going in off your butt to get you jump-started, but he’s a guy that I have so much faith in. When it is all said and done, he’s going to be an elite center in the NHL this year.”
Added Clark: “He had a lot of jump, a lot of life. He was creating a lot of plays, and some days it just doesn’t go in no matter how good you play. He’s a great player, and it is just going to come. He’s getting chances, and he’s setting up other people for chances, which is mainly his big thing. Some guys around him have to start putting them in.”
Boudreau decided to put Backstrom on the second line with Alexander Semin and Brooks Laich and Sergei Fedorov in the middle on the top unit at practice Monday morning.
It was the same adjustment Boudreau made during the team’s playoff series with Philadelphia last season, and both Backstrom and Semin responded with scoring binges.
“I’ve played with [Semin] before, and he’s a great player. It doesn’t matter who you play with,” Backstrom said. “I feel the same. I try not to think about too much when I have to do something because it will make it go wrong. I don’t know - I think if I keep working it will coming.”
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