Bruins-Blues Preview: Does St. Louis Miss David Backes?
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- David Backes won't truly feel the weight of the emotions over facing his former team until the Bruins travel to St. Louis on Apr. 1. But he will certainly get a taste of that emotion when he faces his former teammates at the TD Garden in Boston on Tuesday night.
"I'm just hoping I shoot at the right goalie," Backes joked to Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com. Tuesday night marks the first time in the 32-year-old's career that he will be attacking the goalie in blue and gold, rather than protecting him, as the Blues defend against their former captain.
The big question for St. Louis this season is, how much do they miss Backes? They still have plenty of size down the middle, with Jori Lehtera (6-foot-2) and Patrik Berglund (6-foot-3) filling the void in that department. Losing Backes also hasn't hurt the team much in the standings, as the Blues (10-6-3) are second in the Central Division with 23 points.
What they probably do miss from Backes, however, is his leadership. He provided, along with veteran winger Troy Brouwer and goalie Brian Elliott, a strong presence in the locker room that earned him the 'C' for his final five seasons in St. Louis. The team got much younger in the offseason as it transitions to 27-year-old stalwart defenseman Alex Pietrangelo as its new captain, and head coach Ken Hitchcock believes it may be a factor in the team's 2-5-1 record on the road to start the season.
"We won road games at the start of the year on last year's energy and we've got to go create our own new energy," Hitchcock told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Monday, adding that the team has "imploded" at times on the road by "trying to do too much."
Backes' presence is something the Blues sound like they could use right about now, but they are a team in transition under new leadership and that kind of process won't change or improve overnight. For now, they have to focus on getting better on the road and it will start by facing their former captain.
Here's what else to look for in Bruins-Blues on Tuesday night ...
Offensive holes on both sides. Both the Bruins and Blues will be without key offensive contributors on Tuesday night. Bruins winger David Pastrnak, who leads the team with 10 goals, will miss his third straight game, while the Blues' Alex Steen did not make the trip to Boston as he remains out with concussion-like symptoms. The Blues still have significant firepower with sniper Vladimir Tarasenko, who leads the team with 19 points on the season.
Shattenkirk's hot start. Tuesday night will be something of a homecoming for Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who was born in Greenwich, Conn. and played three seasons at Boston University. But more importantly for the Bruins, they need to contain the blue liner's scorching start to the season: he's fourth among all defensemen with 14 points, and he's especially dangerous on the power-play with nine points in that situation, the most in the league among all defenseman.
The Blues' monster defensive corps. The aforementioned Shattenkirk will be tough to contain when the Blues are on offense, but the Bruins also have a tall task ahead of them on the other end - literally. Of the remaining blue liners to worry about, Pietrangelo is the smallest at 6-foot-3, while Colton Parayko stands at 6-foot-6 and Jay Bouwmeester at 6-foot-4. The Blues have been one of the league's best possession teams because of their defense's ability to limit shots on their own net, so opportunities could be at a premium for the Bruins.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
