Judging by his play so far this year, Capitals rookie Nicklas Backstrom is going to have many, many happy moments in the NHL.
Sunday afternoon however, won't be one fondly remembered. Backstrom suffered the fate of the unlucky few on Sunday, putting a puck in his own net, a miscue that sent the Pittsburgh Penguins into the lead and would place them up two points in the win column shortly after with a 4-2 victory.
Backstrom wore the goat horns when he either tried to shuffle the puck to Caps goaltender Christobal Huet or tried to clear it away from the crease, regardless it ended up in the back of the net an unfortunate event and one that the Caps didn't deserve if karma was to be their way on Sunday.
It was a most entertaining match, which saw both teams create scoring chances and take away play throughout the game. Showcasing two young teams that have a lot of good years of hockey ahead of them.
From the speed of the Capitals to the remarkable team work of the Pens, the NBC game of the week was as good an advertisement for the game as the NHL could have hoped for. The rising stars of the game, both teams hungry for a win and a hard fought battle, close both on the ice and on the scoreboard until the final minute of play.
It won't be an easy thing for Backstrom to accept his on ice miscue, but he shares the burden with some pretty high profile players who managed to put their mistakes behind them.
It's all part of the learning curve and the Caps as young as they are, still require a few hard lessons along the way.
Sunday was one of them, we have a feeling it won't be one forgotten for a while and that young Mr. Backstrom will more than make up for it in the games and seasons to come...
Globe and Mail--Late goals push Pens past Caps
National Post--Backstrom's blunder proves costly
Washington Post--Caps Create Own Misfortune With Their Loss to Penguins
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