(Caps Outsider)
At long last, Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson returned to the lineup as the Caps beat the Blue Jackets, 1-0. And while the game wasn’t pretty – the Blue Jackets outshot the Caps, 38-19 – Backstrom and Wilson’s return brought a sense of normalcy back to the team. During pregame warmups, Wilson and T.J. Oshie participated in their usual stick slapping routine, a routine Oshie has had to do without Wilson. At the tail-end of warmups, Backstrom practiced his cross-ice feeds to Alex Ovechkin, mimicking a power play, as the duo has done for 15 years.
“It’s nice to get the first one out of the way, it was a really cool experience,” Wilson said. “You can never take it for granted, playing in the NHL, the fans. The roar when Nick and I came out. It’s a pretty special feeling.”
VERY loud ovations for Wilson, Backstrom and Ovechkin introduced as starters. @CapsOutsider pic.twitter.com/F83FAsnaG9
— Brandon Alter (@brandon__alter) January 8, 2023
“I couldn’t ask for anything else,” Backstrom said of the ovation. “That was something special, that’s for sure. Moments like that, you’re never going to forget.”
While the timetable for Wilson’s return from ACL surgery was uncertain, there was no question about if he would come back. Wilson said that he felt comfortable with his knee after his first shifted when he gut bumped. But he still has a way to go. In the second period, he got tangled up with Mathieu Olivier, who asked to fight. “I just said, ‘give me a game,”‘ Wilson joked after the game on why he declined to drop the gloves.
For Backstrom’s hip resurfacing surgery, there was some question about if he would ever play again.
“It meant the world,” Backstrom said about the significance of the game. “Obviously, I missed this and with not knowing what my future was going to hold, just coming back and playing was great.”
For Backstrom, he said he said he felt great, but needs to work on his conditioning. Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette expected a transition period as the pair get up to speed.
“They came in and they both had spurts where they looked good,” Laviolette said. “And I think the rest of the guys, for the most part, played a half a season. They’re coming in without a training camp and without normal preparation of summer. Without a training camp, without 42 games and they’re jumping into game 43 and it’s not an easy task.”
Following the anthem and before puck drop, the Dropkick Murphys’ The Boys are Back blared through the arena. Signaling for the last time, that Backstrom and Wilson were indeed back. With the Caps 13-2-2 since Dec. 5, following the win, one could argue that the team is back too.
