The Boston Bruins are looking for any way to cure what ails them, and they’re hoping David Backes might have the antidote.
Backes looks like he could draw back into the lineup for Boston’s Game 4 matchup vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday in their Stanley Cup playoff second-round series. Backes skated on the Bruins’ second line right wing at practice Wednesday alongside David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk.
Here’s what the Boston lines looked like at Wednesday’s practice.
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes
Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — Danton Heinen
Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari/Chris Wagner
Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Clifton
Backes was in and out of the lineup at times this season and saw his ice time drop sharply at times. He hasn’t played since Game 5 of the Bruins’ first-round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs when he logged a team-low 4:36 of ice time on just seven shifts. The 35-year-old obviously isn’t the player he used to be, as evidenced not only by the healthy scratches, but also his 7-13-20 stat line in 70 regular-season games.
However, Backes would provide some additional toughness for the Bruins, and Boston could benefit by having Backes in front of the net in an attempt to make red-hot Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky a little less comfortable. Head coach Bruce Cassidy could even opt to use Backes as the net-front presence on the power play in an attempt to get that struggling unit back on track.
If Backes does draw in, line rushes from Wednesday’s practice seemed to indicate Karson Kuhlman would be the odd man out. Kuhlman skated on that Krejci line in Game 3 and did record an assist on Jake DeBrusk’s goal, the lone tally in CBJ’s 2-1 win.
It’s also worth noting that struggling winger David Pastrnak was back on the top line Wednesday. Pastrnak started Game 3 on the third line, but he was back with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron in the third period and was on the ice for the final 1:45 of the contest.
