Nicklas Backstrom’s value to the Washington Capitals is hard to quantify. He’s the leading scorer with 42 points and plays every situation. So when he took an elbow to the head from Calgary Flames forward Rene Bourque on Tuesday night, it was a scary moment.
Backstrom remained in the game at first but had to be removed. The day after, the Caps listed him as day-to-day but were not calling his injury a concussion just yet. According to Backstrom’s brother, Kristoffer, the Caps center underwent concussion testing Wednesday morning that did not lead to any conclusive result.
“We’re evaluating,” coach Dale Hunter said. “It’s one of those things where you evaluate it for a few days and see how he is.”
Hunter said Backstrom took part in off-ice workouts at the team’s practice facility, and several players noted that the 24-year-old star was there. Marcus Johansson commented that Backstrom wasn’t doing too bad but didn’t want to say much else.
• Stephen Whyno can be reached at swhyno@washingtontimes.com.
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