BOSTON — For a moment Tuesday night, it appeared the Boston Bruins were going to add yet another to their already lengthy list of injured players.
A scary scene unfolded late in the first period of the Bruins’ 4-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes when David Backes took an Oliver Ekmann-Larsson skate to the face. Backes was seen leaking blood as he rushed off the ice, but that didn’t stop him from returning for the start of the second period at TD Garden.
After the game, Brad Marchand couldn’t help but throw a friendly jab at his teammate who will sport a battle wound on his mug for the time being.
“Always scary when you see a teammate get a skate in the face, or really anywhere,” Marchand said. “He looks a little prettier now and he came back, he’s fine. He’s a warrior, so good to see him back out there.”
A busted face also apparently didn’t stop Backes from addressing the locker room after the first period, which concluded with the Coyotes leading 2-0. Marchand has great respect for Backes as a leader, but praise from Marchand, of course, can’t come without jokes.
“He’s very good at that. He’s very vocal and loves to hear himself speak,” Marchand said. “No, he’s great at that. He’s a great leader, he has been for a long time. We’re just trying to piggyback off him.”
So while Backes doesn’t always stuff the stat sheet, it’s clear he finds a way to make an impact for the B’s on a nightly basis.
