How David Backes Intends To Bounce Back From His 'Worst Game Of The Playoffs'
By Matt Kalman, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- For brutal honesty, there's no better player to go to than Bruins forward David Backes.
"Yeah, I think last game was probably my worst game of the playoffs, without a doubt," Backes said Thursday on the off day between Game 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference second round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"And I need a response and I need to find a way to be an impact on the positive side for our team," he added. "I'm looking forward to an opportunity to do that [Friday]."
Backes has just two goals (one at even strength) in these playoffs. He remained pointless in this series during the Bruins' 4-1 loss in Game 3 on Wednesday. Boston trails the best-of-7 series 2-1 with Game 4 set for Friday at TD Garden.
In these playoffs, the Bruins have lived and died with the production of Patrice Bergeron's line. Obviously when that line is kept under the wraps, the Bruins could use more from David Krejci's line. Krejci's trio held a possession edge in Game 3 and has for much of the playoffs while looking for that one bounce or break to go its way. That line could be on the cusp of a breakthrough.
Against a loaded Tampa team, though, two lines may not be enough to get the Bruins beyond this round, and that's where Backes comes in. He may not be a full-time center on Boston's third line, but the veteran is the line's driving force. Even while Riley Nash was piling up career-highs in goals (15) and points (41), and rookie Danton Heinen was having his breakout season (47 points, including 16 goals), Backes was making his presence felt in all three zones and getting the third line moving during the regular season. He bounced back from a rocky first season with Boston (that including a one-goal six-game playoff series against Ottawa) by producing 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 57 games despite recovering from serious colon surgery early in the year.
To be fair, so far this postseason Backes hasn't had much help from his linemates. Whether he's in his worst slump of the season or still feeling the effects of the puck shot at his head that nearly tore off his ear, Nash has been a shell of his former self and he has the one assist on his stat line to prove it. Heinen has scored just once and even earned a spot in the press box for Game 6 of the Toronto series.
But Backes is the 34-year-old with the postseason pedigree that's supposed to lift up his teammates. If Backes were playing better, perhaps coach Bruce Cassidy would've been more apt to juggle his bottom six forwards in Game 3. But it wasn't worth the coach's effort because he wasn't getting anything from any of them.
For this series, Backes has a 32.3 Corsi For percentage. He was at 30 percent in the Game 3 loss. His attempts to get going with his physicality failed, even when they crossed the line and he wound up in a brief tussle with Tampa Bay center Cedric Paquette.
You hate to bring money into the conversation, but Backes wasn't lured to Boston with a five-year contract worth $6 million just to be a physical presence and a dressing room sage, two roles he's filled satisfactorily since coming here. He's supposed to be an impact player with his hands and net-front presence. The Bruins are supposed to be a four-line force, instead they've been reduced to a "one line and pray for a bounce" outfit.
Cassidy could juggle his lineup for Game 4. Backes might wind up playing with any combination of Sean Kuraly, Tim Schaller, Ryan Donato or his usual linemates. Regardless who goes over the boards with Backes, he knows his line has to adjust and not just think it's going to bowl over the Lightning.
"I think my MO in times like these has just been 'put your head down and work harder.' But this instance I think we've got to be smarter and harder in a lot of areas," he said. "It's not going to just fix itself. This is the playoffs, you're not going to get a slouch team or a slouch line to play against, where it's just going to be easy all of a sudden. We've got to earn every inch of ice we get, get back to basics supporting each other, talking and just being a lot harder on pucks all over the place. And if we do that, we'll get the looks we're looking for, we'll get the results we're looking for and we'll get more ice time to go with it."
If Backes is right, Game 3 was rock-bottom for his play. The cliché goes that there's nowhere to go but up from there, so there's still time for Backes to salvage his postseason. If he believes it'll take smarter play to go along with his brawn, that's fine. He just better be right because the Bruins may not last much longer in these playoffs without David Backes' revitalization.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @MattKalman.
