Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom tallied three assists in the team’s 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks Monday night, which were the 599th, 600th and 601st assists of his career.
Assist No. 600 came on a third-period power play with the Capitals clinging to a 3-2 lead. Alex Ovechkin slammed home a goal from the left circle after some passing among himself, John Carlson and Backstrom. No. 601 came on an insurance goal by T.J. Oshie late in the game.
According to Capitals PR, Backstrom passed Henrik Sedin for most assists by one player since 2007-08. Further, 52 Washington teammates were on the receiving end of his apples:
Nicklas Backstrom has set up 52 different teammates on the road to 600 career assists, including 234 helpers on goals by Alex Ovechkin (39%). He has only set up two other players at least 40 times: T.J. Oshie (48) and Alexander Semin (40), per NHL Stats.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) October 23, 2018
The Capitals play the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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