St. Louis Blues’ David Backes, Jake Allen to Miss Rest of Regular Season with Injuries
The St. Louis Blues will be without their captain and one of their goaltenders for the last three games of the regular season.
The St. Louis Blues announced on Monday afternoon that goalie Jake Allen and forward David Backes will miss the remainder of the regular season after both suffered lower-body injuries in Sunday night’s 5-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche. While that sounds like a crushing blow, the Blues may not be without their captain and co-starting goaltender for too long, as there are just three (mostly non-consequential) games remaining in the regular season.
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The Blues announced that both players will be re-evaluated after the conclusion of the regular season, which could be as early as Sunday.
Backes’s exit from the lineup means that Troy Brouwer is the only Blues player remaining with a chance to play in all 82 games this season. Backes could very easily still finish second on the team in games played, though, as Vladimir Tarasenko is the only player with a chance to eclipse his 79 games played over the final three games of the regular season. It’s possible, if not likely, that Tarasenko will rest for the Blues’ regular season finale against Washington on Saturday.
As long as Backes’s injury is of the minor variety, there are positives that can be taken away from the fact that he’ll miss the final three games. The Blues need to fully evaluate Dmitrij Jaskin, Magnus Paajarvi, Steve Ott, and Ryan Reaves (perhaps along with Ty Rattie, if he resurfaces within the next week) to determine what their fourth line is going to look like against Chicago. Ken Hitchcock has almost always opted for a more skillful fourth line when playing the Blackhawks, the Blues’ likely first-round opponent, so there’s a good chance that a player like Jaskin could end up in the lineup over Reaves if he inspires confidence over the remainder of the season.
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Backes’s absence means that the Blues will also have an easier time incorporating
Robby Fabbriback into the lineup if they want to get the rookie back up to speed before the playoffs.
Considering that Allen finished the first period of what was then a 3-0 game, while Backes played until the end on Sunday night in Colorado, it’s definitely possible that the Blues are just exercising some precaution in their treatment of the two injured players over the next three games. Backes found a way to return quickly from a much more brutal-looking injury two years ago as the Blues played the Blackhawks in the first round of the postseason, so you have to figure that he’ll make every effort to get back on the ice at some point during the Blues’ first round series this year (which will very likely, once again, take place against Chicago).
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This probably sets in stone Brian Elliott‘s status as the Blues’ starter in goal for Game 1 of their first-round series. Third-stringer Anders Nilsson, who had one of the best games of his NHL career on Sunday, stopping 19 of 20 shots in relief of Allen, will back up Elliott for the remainder of the season and could also have an opportunity to dress during the playoffs, depending on the severity of Allen’s injury.