The St. Louis Blues’ chances to take home the third game of their playoff series against the Chicago Blackhawks will take a massive hit as it has been confirmed that their captain won’t suit up for what appears to be a pivotal contest.
According to reports from official sources, David Backes has been officially ruled out for tonight’s game against the Blackhawks with an upper body injury. The injury was sustained after receiving a vicious hit from Brent Seabrook that cost the defenseman a three-game suspension.
The news was confirmed by Blues coach Ken Hitchcock.
“He's out, won't play today," Hitchcock told the media although he didn’t elaborate any further into Backes’ situation for the reminder of the series. "He's our No. 1 center, he plays the most minutes on the hockey club, he plays in every situation. It has to be shared. Not one person's going to be able to take the slot. We don't have that”.
However, not everything is bad news for the Blues. Brenden Morrow will return to action after being scratched in Game 2 and Patrik Berglund will also return after recovering from an upper body injury.
"It's a big hole [filling Backes' spot], but I think we're more equipped with Berglund in our lineup," Hitchcock said. "We're more equipped to handle this than we would have been without 'Bergie' here."
Alexander Steen is projected to assume Backes’ role in the first line, skating with Steve Ott and T.J. Oshie on the wings. Both Morrow and Berglund are projected to start in the third line next to Ryan Reaves.