Alex Ovechkin's top line mate, Nicklas Backstrom, discusses what makes Ovechkin so lethal

By foxsports
Published

Alex Ovechkin came into the NHL in the 2005-06 season. Nicklas Backstrom joined him just two seasons later.

The two have been paired up for several years now, and Backstrom has a strong relationship with his scoring left winger. So what has changed since the two first started playing together eight seasons ago?

"He's older now," Backstrom said with a chuckle.

Ovechkin is older now. He just turned 30 on Sept. 17. But has Ovechkin changed in any other way?

"He's the same," Backstrom said. "He's still a (fun) guy to be around. He scores his goals. It's the same Alex."

Since Ovechkin has entered the league, he's scored 475 goals in just 760 games. That ranks him 50th on the all-time goal scoring scale. And he is only going to climb higher and higher. If Ovechkin manages another 50-goal season, he'll be at 525 goals, ranking him 33rd all-time, just ahead of Bryan Trottier's 524 career goals. Assuming Ovechkin plays in a full 82 game season, he'll have 842 career games played. Trottier finished his career with 1279  games played.

How is Ovechkin able to put up 50-goal years, year after year, when most guys struggle to net 40?Most aren't even able to net 30. What is his secret?

"He's a hard working guy," Backstrom said. "He's strong. He needs a lot of power in his game. Obviously, that's a big thing for him."

But there are several guys in the league that rely on a power game, but still can't score at the rate that Ovechkin does. There's one other deadly quality Ovechkin possess that others simply can't match.

"It's his shot," Backstrom said. "There's no one in the league that shoots as good as he does. I mean, I think for the goalies that I've heard (from) - I talk to goalies - it's so hard for them to read his shot. It's quick too. And he can shoot from all of the angles. A lot of people can't do that the way he can. That's why he knows how to put it in."

Ovechkin may be without his elite playmaker for the beginning of the season. Backstrom isn't partaking in training camp as he recovers from offseason hip surgery. Backstrom was a little vague on how he's progressing in his recovery, but he seemed optimistic.

"It's hard to say," Backstrom said. "I can't really talk about it. As I said before, I'm feeling good sometimes. So, I mean, that's a good sign."

"Hopefully I get better in a couple of weeks, and we'll go from there."