Backstrom visiting specialist in Michigan, Caps confirm

The Washington Capitals have confirmed to website Russian Machine Never Breaks that star forward Nicklas Backstrom is visiting a specialist in Michigan to explore what his agent originally called a “bruised neck”

Said the Caps in an email: “Nick and his agent informed us that they are being proactive with his injury and decided to visit a specialist prior to training camp. Obviously, as you know until camp officially starts teams cannot perform physicals on any player.”

Backstrom suffered the injury late last month while playing for Dynamo Moscow.

On Tuesday, Caps GM George McPhee declined to comment on the issue.

“There are some things we can talk about, some things we can’t, and we can’t talk about the fitness or health of any players until training camp,” McPhee said. “I’d be happy then.”

Alex Ovechkin was also a member of Dynamo Moscow during the lockout and he’s free to talk. Unfortunately, his report only raised more questions.

“I think he’s doing well,” Ovechkin said. “It was not a dirty [hit] than was before. But sometimes it’s not hard hit, you just feel a little dizzy. We’ll see how it goes.”

Backstrom was sidelined for 40 contests in 2011-12 due to a concussion, so it’s concerning to hear that one of his symptoms is dizziness.

As RMNB notes, Sidney Crosby saw a specialist in Michigan when he was struggling with a concussion.