Backstrom's 1,000th point with Capitals 'means a lot'

EDMONTON --Nicklas Backstrom would've preferred his 1,000th NHL point came in a victory, but the Washington Capitals forward had to settle for the team earning a point following a 4-3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Wednesday.

Backstrom had a goal and an assist to become the second player in Capitals history to reach 1,000 points (263 goals, 737 assists in 1,037 games), joining teammate Alex Ovechkin (1,390). The 34-year-old is also the 93rd player in NHL history to reach the milestone and the sixth from Sweden, joining Mats Sundin (1,349), Daniel Alfredsson (1,157), Nicklas Lidstrom (1,142), Henrik Sedin (1,070) and Daniel Sedin (1,041).
"Obviously, it means a lot," Backstrom said. "It's a big milestone, so I'm very happy about it."
After Backstrom opened the scoring with a turnaround backhand goal at 2:17 of the second period, he appeared to get his 1,000th point with an assist on a power-play goal by John Carlson to put Washington ahead 2-1 with 5:04 remaining in the second.

However, Backstrom suspected he entered the zone offside because T.J. Oshie had trouble corralling a bouncing puck at Edmonton's blue line.
That suspicion was confirmed on video review after Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft challenged the play.
"All the guys came up and celebrated and I said right away, 'I think it's offside,' because I saw it bounce off 'Osh's' foot there," Backstrom said. "But yeah, it happens."

Backstrom got his 1,000th point anyway when Oshie took his feed on the rush and scored from the right circle to tie the game 2-2 at 6:13 of the third period.
"I almost kind of burned out my energy on the celebration on the first one," said Oshie, who later forced overtime with 1.8 seconds remaining in regulation. "But no, definitely. What an amazing achievement. Guys just hope to play a game in this league and then you hope to play 100, you hope to play 1,000, and 1,000 points, that's only for the few elite. So it's super impressive.
"The boys, and myself especially, are super happy for Nick on this accomplishment. I know there's going to be many more, but very, very impressive."
Backstrom has scored 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 26 games this season after missing the first 28 games while recovering from a left hip injury. He also missed two games while in NHL COVID-19 protocol and another three with the flu, but he has found his rhythm recently with six points (one goal, five assists) in his past six games.
"An amazing accomplishment to be able to reach that, and the game that he had backs it up and tells you why he got there," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "He's such an impact player for us. He's unbelievable, unbelievable to reach that milestone."