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Nicklas Backstrom’s return adds to Canes’ woes

Washington Capitals v New York Rangers - Game Seven

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 13: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates wiith teammate John Carlson #74 and Nicklas Backstrom #19 after scoring a goal in the first peroid against the New York Rangers in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 13, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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Nicklas Backstrom missed the first three games of the regular season as he recovered from hip surgery, but he’s making up for lost time now that he’s back.

The 27-year-old forward had two points in his season debut, including the game-winning goal as the Washington Capitals cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes got their first win of the season on Friday against Detroit, but they weren’t able to build off of that momentum. T.J. Oshie netted a power-play goal late in the first period and Carolina was never able to even the score after that.

This one stayed close for most of the night though. It wasn’t until Backstrom’s marker early in the third period that Washington had any breathing room.

Jeff Skinner brought Carolina back within one, but John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin responded with a pair of unanswered goals. That also extended Ovechkin’s season-opening goal scoring streak to three games.

The Hurricanes have fallen to 1-4-0 and things might only get worse from here as they still have five contests remaining in their seven-game road trip. Washington is now 3-1-0 going into Tuesday’s contest in Calgary.