Capitals' Trotz: Backstrom came back about 10 games early
Nicklas Backstrom certainly isn't showing it, but his head coach admits the star center played sooner than he probably should have following offseason hip surgery.
"I thought (he) worked tremendously hard to get back to the point where he came back probably 10 games maybe early," Barry Trotz told Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post.
"Six to seven, eight, 10 games early, based on if he went the distance on what the doctor said. ... There was a little bit of a drop-off," Trotz said. "You lose a little bit of that adrenaline, and when you come back, the stiffness in your old injury starts to come back."
Backstrom missed the first three games of the 2015-16 campaign after having surgery in May, scoring a goal and adding two assists in a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in his season debut on Oct. 17.
He has 18 points in 18 games, including two goals and four assists in his last five contests.
"I'm feeling like I'm more aggressive, and that's what I want to be," Backstrom said.
"But the first couple games, obviously, there was a little discomfort and it was a little mental, too, like, 'Can I go into this?' It’s all in your head, I think. When you keep playing, you get more comfortable. The last couple games, I feel like it's been more my type of games. That’s how I want to play."
Backstrom was reunited with Alex Ovechkin last week, setting up the captain's record-setting 484th goal and scoring one of his own in a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, the duo's second game back together.
"It felt normal again, if you know what I mean," Backstrom said
The Capitals have won three games in a row and four of their last five.