Nicklas Backstrom recorded his 61st assist and 90th point on the season. He's only the 5th Capital to ever record 90 points in a season, joining Alexander "The Gr8" Ovechkin, Bobby "The Can't Miss Kid" Carpenter, Mike "Mustache" Gartner, and Dennis "Dennis" Maruk. This is in stark contrast to before Sunday's game when he was the 14th Cap to reach 80 points, which just doesn't have the same ring to it. That 61st assist put him into a tie with Scott Stevens for the 5th best single season mark all-time in Caps history.
Congratulations are also in order for Mathieu Perreault who is making a strong case for George McPhee to cut ties with Eric Belanger and Brendan Morrison this summer. The 5'8, 166 lb Perreault was flying around the ice like a smurf and potted his first career powerplay goal in his 19th career game.
While his 44% on faceoffs against the Flames wasn't impressive, it put him squarely between Backstrom's 43% and Belanger's 45%. Of all the players to start the season in Hershey, nobody has more goals (3), assists (5), or points (8) than Perreault, and only John Carlson has a better +/-. Perreault is following up a 77-game, 50-point AHL rookie season with a 52-game, 45-point sophomore season and has already set a new AHL career high in goals. Expect to see the former QMJHL MVP on the Caps next season full-time.
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