– (The tribute) was a fantastic thing, something that only happens once in a lifetime. It was almost difficult to take it in… but now it’s back to everyday life and the next match, says Backlund.
It was in the last game, the away loss against newcomer Utah Hockey, that the 35-year-old Western Austrian “turned 1,000”. But the club waited with the accolades for the home game in the Scotiabank Saddledome and Backlund got everything doubled: accolades and victory.
A win that snapped a four-game losing streak for the Flames.
– Everyone was ready to play. We played Flames hockey tonight, Backlund explains the victory. It’s the hockey we lost in a few games; now we found our way back to it. A fantastic nice win that really tops off this evening for me. It was a special night, and the boys fought so hard… in this league, it’s not easy to turn things around when you’ve played badly in a couple of games. So all credit to my teammates.
– It was also special to be part of the tribute to my old teammate (Markström) and I think that Dan (Vladar) is super happy to keep a clean sheet against his old partner… he has played solid hockey for us all year, so it was nice for him to come in and play so well and to beat “Marky”, says Backlund.
