Nicklas Backstrom Now In Fifth Place for Assists Among Swedish Born NHL Players

Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Image

Late in the second period of the Washington Capitals 5-3 victory over the Calgary Flames, Alex Ovechkin scored the Caps third goal of the game to put the Caps ahead 3-2. He was assisted by Nicklas Backstrom and Radko Gudas. Backstrom’s assist was his 649th of his career which moved him into sole possession of fifth place in career assists among Swedish born NHL players.

This game was tied and then OVI!#ALLCAPS #CapsFlames pic.twitter.com/Kj1MKdUFXW

— Washington 👻 Capitals (@Capitals) October 23, 2019

“Backstrom, a phenomenal play to Ovechkin to answer right back,” Coach Todd Reirden said. “Those are huge, huge goals. . . . And that is why they are who they are.”

Prior to tonight, he was tied for fifth place with Daniel Sedin. It has taken Backstrom just 906 games to reach that milestone, compared to Sedin who played in 1306 games in his career. Currently, Daniel Alfredsson is in fourth place with 713 assists.

It occurred on a night that also featured two John Carlson goals on a night when the Capitals won 5-3.

Nicklas Backstrom recorded his 649th career assist in his 906th game, becoming the fastest Swedish-born player to reach 649 assists (Henrik Sedin: 1,010 games; Daniel Alfredsson: 1,085 games; Mats Sundin: 1,125 games; Nicklas Lidstrom: 1,148 games).

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) October 23, 2019