from Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post,

In the NHL, he’s often been an afterthought — named to the All-Star Game just once and never winning any major individual award. On the Capitals, his subtle playmaking is overshadowed by the big hits and screaming shots of longtime teammate Alex Ovechkin.

But outside Gavlerinken Arena, a group of teenagers stops to gawk as Backstrom, hiding behind heavily tinted sunglasses, takes the bike around back to avoid making a grand entrance.

“I guess you’ve never seen me like this before,” he says.

Backstrom is Washington’s second-most popular hockey player, but his preference to stay out of the spotlight for the past 11 years has made him something of an enigma among Capitals fans. They defend his play as underrated and his passing as elite, and they wish he’d get more recognition. He’s the other half of so many Ovechkin goals — and the other face of the franchise. And yet throughout his time in Washington, Backstrom has kept his private life very much private.

The arena’s back door is open, and he’ll carry the Stanley Cup through it in two days. But first Backstrom takes a seat in the upper bowl and starts to unfurl the origin story of his rise to silent stardom.

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