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Blues Playoff Run Keyed To David Backes, STL Line

ByA.P. Andes|

This is a two-part series on the upcoming playoffs for the St. Louis Blues. The first article will address David Backes, the second the STL line.

Many will point to Brian Elliott as the person most responsible if the St. Louis Blues suffer yet another early-round exit, or perhaps the play of Vladimir Tarasenko if it does not elevate itself to the next level. Both sound plausible, but the Blues have won all year with each of these things being out of synch at times.

Meanwhile, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock has been juggling lines in an effort to get the most production out of his people, and this is a fine tactic, especially when things are not going well. Last year Chicago Blackhawks Coach Joel Quenneville did that against the Blues starting in Game 3. What resulted was the Blackhawks winning four straight, leaving the Blues to head for the links yet again after the first round.

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This year, given the makeup of this team and its management style en route to victory or defeat, it is likely two things more than anything else will spell the playoff fate of the Blues: the STL line and the play of Blues captain David Backes. In Backes’ case, he needs not only to play like a captain, but his most important contribution to the team would be in leaving a huge part of his game behind: his all-too-often place in the penalty box. Let’s start there.

David Backes: Leader. Scorer. Goon.

That last word is not a word most Blues fans would ever pronounce in talking about the Blues’ All-Star and two-time Olympian, leader and captain. A superb two-way player and Selke finalist, Backes’ gritty, potent presence on the ice extends both to scoring as well as hitting, and with 25 goals and 29 assists for 54 points, Backes is fourth on the Blues in total points. He is 55th in the entire NHL.

Mar 24, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; St. Louis Blues center David Backes (42) carries the puck into the offensive zone against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Here is a disturbing stat: with only 75 games played, Backes already has more penalty minutes this season than Raffi Torres [. . .] has ever earned in a single season in his career.

He is also second behind Ryan Reaves in PIM, with a whopping 98 penalty minutes in 75 games, tied with two other players for 14th in the league.

The “G” word is one you hear increasingly uttered by other teams’ fans about Backes, and while its use inevitably causes offense, in relation to Backes’ play it is more understandable than it once was.

Consider this: Dustin Brown, the captain of the Los Angeles Kings, known for taking penalties and for his hard-hitting and suspect, often over-the-line play, has a monastic 24 PIM this year in 76 games. Daniel Carcillo, the perennially Suspended One of the Blackhawks, has 54 PIM in 39 games, just slightly above Backes’ pace. The ’Hawks pugnacious instigator, Andrew Shaw, has only 61 PIM in 73 games. And the Boston Bruins’ Milan Lucic, one of the roughest players in the NHL (and, like Backes, a talented player), has only 79 PIM in 76 games.

Next: Is Olli Jokinen Top Line Material?

Here is a disturbing stat: with only 75 games played, Backes already has more penalty minutes this season than Raffi Torres, one of the NHL’s premier assassins in the tradition of Bryan Marchment and Sean Avery, has ever earned in a single season in his career.

Is this really the kind of company you want to keep?

How Backes’ Play Can Hurt The Blues.

Backes’ less-than-circumspect play poses a triple threat to the Blues. First, Backes’ propensity for taking inopportune roughing and boarding calls have resulted in many a goal against the Blues. Second, as he continues to inch closer to the line with his physical play, the prospect of a suspension in the playoffs looms as a potential back-breaker for the Blues. They were not the same team without him in the Chicago series after Seabrook’s hit took him out. The Blues cannot afford a repeat. Third, even absent a suspension, his conduct, if it is over-the-line, may invite retaliation against one of his teammates.

Backes has never been suspended by the NHL, but many who saw his boarding hit on Karl Alzner (myself included) during the February 1, 2015 game against the Washington Capitals felt he should have been suspended a couple games.

Alzner had his back to the Blues captain; Backes threw his upper body into Alzner’s head, slamming it into the glass; Backes’ feet nearly left the ice; Alzner’s face was bloodied and Backes received a match penalty, but no further action was taken.

A Backes hit at full speed from behind in an April 18, 2013 contest with the Phoenix Coyotes catapulted ’Yotes D-man Oliver Ekman-Larsson into the boards, as shown here on Holdout Sports, and could easily have resulted in a devastating injury

If Ekman-Larsson had hit differently or lower. Backes received a two-minute boarding call and the Coyotes scored on the ensuing powerplay but he was not disciplined further.

Backes’ stock as a class player definitely took a hit last season in a widely-reported altercation instigated by Backes against rookie Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche in the last five minutes of a game on April 5, 2014, when the Avs were on a powerplay and ahead 3-0. The game was over. MacKinnon was a foot or two from the boards and had already passed the puck on when Backes hit him high, trying to send him into the boards. Instead, the rookie actually stayed on his feet and shoved Backes off him, so Backes pulled him down into a fight. Colorado Coach Patrick Roy had this to say:

“To me it’s gutless from Backes . . . If you’re going after an eighteen year old . . . Not very impressed.”

As a veteran captain and team ambassador, it was surely a moment Backes would like a redo on. But St. Louis plays a smashmouth, in-your-face style of physical intimidation hockey, and Backes is an integral part of that. Like the Detroit Red Wings’ Niklas Kronwall in his prime, Backes can cleanly and legally lay out people as well as anyone playing today:

The David Backes We Love.

Starting in his very first season with St. Louis, Backes has always reminded me, even in his looks, of my all-time favorite Blue in all the right (and couple wrong) ways: Chris Pronger. Like Pronger, he is a tower of strength with a huge reach and an insatiable lust for separating people from the puck (and their bodies) in cartoonish fashion. He also brings the added dimension of strong production, both in scoring and in playmaking.

Apr 27, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; St. Louis Blues center David Backes (42) checks Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook (7) into the boards during the second period in game six of the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Pronger was known for practicing his slashing stickwork even in practice on his teammates, which was not always appreciated. In his prime, he was one of the most dominating hockey players ever, a purely fearful force with his body unlike any player not named Scott Stevens I have ever seen. And, so much like Stevens, every fan and every player of every team except his despised him to the bone, with good reason. The same is surely true of David Backes.

What else do the Blues need from Backes? Simply to keep producing as he has. But Backes has not exactly been Claude Lemieux in the playoffs in his career.

Like Captain Happy, David Backes sets a table that gives other teams butterflies when they have to play the Blues. This is a good thing. Pronger was famous for his short fuse, and Backes plays much the same, leaving everything he has on the ice, with a habit of taking bad penalties at the worst possible time. In Pronger’s case being shorthanded with him in the box was devastating because he was the Blues’ top penalty killer and one of the top penalty killers in the NHL. Still, the Blues lose a lot with Backes in the box on the PK with his two-way skills.

What The Blues Need From Backes.

Backes’ and the Blues’ physical style of play only works if the Blues don’t wind up spending a fourth of the game killing penalties, or losing a close game due to a needless powerplay goal from a hit that made no sense at the time it was made. Backes will need to lead by example in this area. And cheap hits like the one against MacKinnon or Alzner, even if they don’t result in suspension, invite others to return the favor—against Tarasenko, for example.

As of March 31, 2015 the Blues are ranked 10th among all teams on the PK at 82.8%, which is decent but not great. Two likely first-round opponents for the Blues, the Minnesota Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks, are ranked 1st and 5th respectively. This is a losing proposition.

So, by the time the Blues have put the other team on the PP for the fifth time, they are likely to be scored upon. But if it comes on a night when Elliott is not seeing the puck, he might let in a goal on the first powerplay, or a couple soft goals that put the Blues in a hole they are unable to dig themselves out of. In the playoffs that will be a recipe for a first-round exit.

What else do the Blues need from Backes? Simply to keep producing as he has. But Backes has not exactly been Claude Lemieux in the playoffs in his career. Last year he had no goals and one assist in four games and was -3 against the Blackhawks. The year before he had one goal and two assists in six games. In 2011-12 he had 2 goals and 2 assists in 9 games and finished with a -5. For a first-line center at $4.75M per on an elite team, the Blues are not getting their money’s worth there.

More than any other player on the St. Louis Blues, David Backes must work hard in this year’s playoffs not only to step up and deliver with points and play that show why he wears the “C” on his sweater, but he must work even harder not to undermine the team’s chances game-in and game-out by not taking stupid penalties, or even worse, by taking himself out of the playoffs altogether with a hit that crosses the line. Chris Pronger, despite his immense talent, never saw the Stanley Cup Finals with the Blues, and those couple shortcomings played their part. Let’s hope Backes can distinguish himself in that way.

Blues fans: have a thought on this? Let us know!

Next: Vladimir Tarasenko Injured In 4-1 Loss To Canucks

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