Washington Capitals teammates Alex Ovechkin and Niklas Backstrom form the most formidable attack in the KHL, Yaroslavl Lokomotiv goaltender Semyon Varlamov has said.
Ovechkin, a Capitals player since 2005, signed a lockout contract with Dynamo Moscow last month and after persuading his long-time partner Backstrom to do the same, the Swedish forward finally joined the Gagarin Cup holder last week.
Backstrom claimed his first KHL point on his debut against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl on Monday, combining with Filip Novak to provide an assist for Ovechkin, who beat Varlamov between the posts with a powerful wrister.
“This will probably be the most powerful and dangerous tandem,” Varlamov said after the game, which ended in a 3-0 Lokomotiv defeat.
“Give Backstrom some time to find his form, to adapt, and his pairing with Ovechkin will become a threat to all goaltenders,” he added.
Varlamov tended the goal for the Capitals from 2008 to 2011 before joining the Colorado Avalanche, and he admitted that the duo knew how to play against him.
"Ovechkin and Backstrom know my weaknesses, know where to shoot,” Varlamov said.
Dynamo leads second-placed Lokomotiv by eight points in the Western Conference, but Tom Rowe’s men have one game in hand.
Dynamo travels to Nizhniy Novgorod to face local team Torpedo on Wednesday while Lokomotiv hosts SKA St. Petersburg on the same day.
