Boston Bruins forward and alternate captain David Backes came up big in Thursday’s 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
When the Boston Bruins went out to grab forward David Backes in the offseason, many fans were skeptical. The Bruins organization was supposed to be embracing a youth movement. They had committed themselves to that. Then, they pulled a 180 on the fans and recruited a 32-year old to replace Loui Eriksson.
Backes went out on the ice on Thursday and silenced many of his critics. He scored the second and third goals for the Bruins in their 6-3 victory over Columbus. He was also able to find some instant chemistry with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak while taking over for an injured Patrice Bergeron. They were responsible for all six Boston goals.
Brad Marchand (who tied a personal best with a five point game) was practically gushing about Backes after the game.
“He’s awesome,” said Marchand of Backes according to CSNNE.com. “He’s a phenomenal player. I played against him a couple of times, but I never realized how good he really was with the puck, and how smart he was.
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“I knew he was really hard to play against and I never enjoyed it, but he’s an awesome guy to have on our team. We’re very fortunate that we signed him.”
Backes first got fans attention by being willing to throw down the gloves just three minutes into the season. He also stuck to the Columbus net throughout the game. If Backes had been anymore in Sergei Bobrovsky‘s crease he would have to pay rent on it.
Backes brings a physicality to his game that fans thought was missing in Eriksson. He uses his frame tactically and seems to find great positioning in the offensive zone. That’s something the Bruins sorely needed, and it’s already paying dividends in Boston.
Claude Julien also had nothing but praise for the Bruins’ newest alternate captain.
“That’s why we went and got him,” said Julien. “We’ve talked about that for a long time. He’s a big strong player that can play center, and can play wing. We’ve liked his net-front presence and all of that stuff, and how strong he is.
“We had to replace a player that had a pretty good year for us in Loui Eriksson, so I thought it was a great choice to bring David Backes in. I think the team, and the organization made a really solid decision there.”
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Backes is hoping to build on the B’s recent success as he and the rest of the team are in Toronto to take on hockey phenom Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs.