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Caps fans litter the ice with 'apples' after a goal by Nicklas Backstrom

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TJ Tucker
March 27, 2022  (4:07 PM)
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Nicklas Backstrom seems like a guy who'd rather stay out of the spotlight than be in it. That works out well on a team like the Washington Capitals, which has names like Alexander Ovechkin and Tom Wilson, who seem to enjoy being in the middle of things. During Saturday's game between the Caps and New Jersey Devils, though the spotlight was squarely on Backstrom as he was honoured by teammates and fans.

Backstrom recently scored his 1000th point in the NHL. In a pre-game ceremony, teammates paid tribute to the milestone, while foam apples were passed out to fans as Backstrom's points usually come in the form of assists. It seems like no one was overly worried about keeping them as souvenirs.

In the third period with the game tied at 2, Backstrom scored a goal on a really nice pass by Anthony Mantha. While Backstrom has way more assists than goals, fans decided to get into the spirit anyway, with hundreds of "apples" coming over the boards and landing on the ice. It was probably a pretty arduous cleanup effort by the ice crew, but I bet no one cared. It was a great moment and a great way to celebrate. Washington went on to win the game 4-3.