Backes 'No Worse for Wear' After Skate Scare

BOSTON - David Backes has not had the best of luck over the past two seasons.
Last November, the veteran forward missed roughly a month - some four weeks less than expected - following colon surgery related to a bout of diverticulitis. Then in March, Backes required 18 stitches to close a wound in his leg after being nicked by the skate of Tampa Bay forward Yanni Gourde.
As a result, Backes - who also suffered a concussion in the Bruins' final game of the postseason, courtesy of a high hit from the Lightning's J.T. Miller - was Boston's 2018 nominee for the Masterton Trophy, awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.

And it was all of those qualities that were on display once again on Tuesday night at TD Garden. Backes found himself in yet another precarious situation when the skate blade of Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson caught him in the face during the first period of the Bruins' 4-3 win over Arizona.
The 34-year-old immediately raced off the ice and down the tunnel to the dressing room, where he was relieved to find out the extent of the damage was not nearly as bad as it could have been. Backes needed "a few" stitches on the outside and inside of his nose, but was back on the ice to take the faceoff at the start of the second.
"No worse for wear," said Backes. "Could have been a lot worse looking at the video and knowing that there's some sharp apparatus right by my moneymaker, my face."
Backes, however, is not worried about another scar affecting any hopes of landing a post-career modeling gig.
"That was voided shortly after birth, unfortunately," Backes quipped. "Been married for 10 years, she still loves me. My daughter's a little bit scared of it. But I told her it will heel in time…all good."
Now in his 13th NHL season, the Minnesota native has faced his share of adversity over the course of career with the St. Louis Blues and Bruins. And it's the way he handles it all that has made him such a respected leader in the dressing room.
"Backes does a ton of talking. He's very good with that. He's very vocal and he loves to hear himself speak," joked Brad Marchand. "He's great at that. He's a great leader. He has been for a long time, so we just try to piggy-back off him."

McAvoy Cut, Too

Like Backes, Charlie McAvoy has had little luck of late. In four games since his return from a 20-game absence with a concussion, the second-year blue liner has taken a heavy blindside hit from Toronto's Zach Hyman - who was suspended two games - and a stick to the face from Arizona's Clayton Keller.
Neither caused McAvoy to miss more than a few minutes of ice time, but the high stick did require some stitching just below his right eye.
"I'm fine. Fortunate the other night, it obviously missed my eye," said McAvoy. "The other one was really through my chest, not my head. I'm fine. I'm in good health. Can't really catch a break right now, but nonetheless my spirits are high."

On the Mend

The Bruins had a number of positive injury developments on Thursday as Patrice Bergeron (rib, sternoclavicular), Zdeno Chara (left MCL), and Kevan Miller (throat) all skated at Warrior Ice Arena.
Bergeron and Chara - at the four-week mark of their recoveries - took the ice with skating and skills coach Kim Brandvold before practice, running through some light edge work, stickhandling, and shooting for about 50 minutes.
"They're skating and they're getting closer to joining practice," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "But again, there's no timeline on exactly when. I suspect we'll probably see them in practice next week, but I don't want to get ahead of myself and speak for them."
Miller, meanwhile, was on the ice for the full team practice, donning a maroon non-contact jersey. The blue liner, who took a puck to the throat on Nov. 26 in Toronto, also appeared to be wearing some extra protection around his neck.
"He's practicing in a non-contact jersey, so he's able to do that, so that's good," said Cassidy. "He'll obviously have to get cleared for contact. He had a huge beard today, so I assume he's wearing a neck guard under there…but it's good to see him back on the ice. He's had a couple of tough injuries so far. Doing well."
Jake DeBrusk did not skate and will miss his fourth straight game on Friday in Pittsburgh. Cassidy said the winger has been placed into the concussion protocol, but was at the rink on Thursday and is "feeling better."
"Less symptoms today, so going in the right direction," said Cassidy.

Kuraly Missing

Sean Kuraly was not on the ice for practice after undergoing a minor procedure on his nose, which was broken in a fight with Ottawa's Ben Harpur on Sunday. Cassidy said the center was somewhere between probable and questionable for Friday's game in Pittsburgh.
"Closed reduction I think they call it for his nose injury," said Cassidy. "He had to stay off today…we'll see how he feels in the morning. I suspect he'll have to wear a cage for a little bit of time. That's a call we'll make [on Friday]."

Opposing View

The Bruins will visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night for the teams' second meeting of the season. Boston took the first matchup, a 2-1 overtime win on Black Friday, courtesy of Joakim Nordstrom's tally in the extra session.
Pittsburgh (13-11-6, 32 points) is coming off a 6-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night and is 3 points back of Montreal for the East's second wild card spot.
But for Ryan Donato, who will be facing off against the Penguins for the first time in his career, this remains a premier matchup.
"It's one of those talented NHL teams that capitalize on every mistake," said Donato. "I look up and down their lineup and they have a lot of superstars, so I think for us we've got to come in with a mentality of being really hungry and prepared to play some defense, but also not make any mistakes."