ST. LOUIS – “To be honest with you,” Nicklas Backstrom began, “I didn’t even know where he was at.” He assumed Alex Ovechkin had more than 40 goals, but he wasn’t sure exactly how close Ovechkin was to 50. It dawned on Backstrom sometime after he assisted on Ovechkin’s third goal against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night in a 5-1 Capitals win.
With his second hat trick of the season, Ovechkin scored at least 50 goals for a third straight season, and he’ll claim a fourth straight Rocket Richard Trophy for being the top goal-scorer.