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Video: Nicklas Backstrom’s slick saucer pass is the star of T.J. Oshie’s goal

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Nicklas Backstrom makes a superb pass up and over two sticks of the Bruins and puts T.J. Oshie in position to beat Tuukka Rask for a quick 1-0 lead.

Nicklas Backstrom set up T.J. Oshie for the hockey equivalent to an alley oop, though the degree of difficulty was higher.

For one thing, Oshie had so much time, it almost would have been understandable if he flubbed it. It’s like a basketball player who is so open you wonder that the shot will end in a brick.

The real treat of this clip is the assist, as Backstrom took advantage of a Brad Marchand turnover to send a beautiful saucer pass through a small window of two Boston Bruins.

It’s one of those moments that hockey nerds will particularly enjoy, a subtle display of skill that makes a more obvious slam-dunk moment happen.

(Phew, that’s a lot of analogies to other sports. Sorry.)

Here’s the moment itself, as it’s probably worth seeing in isolation:

Backstrom now has 36 assists, second only to Connor McDavid. It’s easy to see why thanks to moments like these.

It was a strong first period overall for Backstrom, who added a goal: