David Backes provided the blueprint for how he can remain in Bruins’ regular rotation in Vegas

At first glance, it would appear as though a player of David Backes’ profile would be an odd candidate when it comes to injecting some scoring punch into a forward trio.

Along with being limited to seven goals and 20 points over 70 games in 2018-19, Backes’ 5v5 expected goals for per 60 minutes rate of 2.09 ranked 25th among Bruins players that logged at least 50 minutes of ice time last year. 

The veteran power forward can’t be knocked for a lack of effort whenever he hops over the boards, but even with a summer spent working on his skating skills, it seems rather unlikely that a player like Backes is the missing piece to compliment a line such as Charlie Coyle’s over the long grind of the regular season.  

But on a north-south, straightforward checking line, Backes could do some damage — and keep himself afloat in what should be a cutthroat competition for regular minutes in Boston’s bottom-six unit.



While it would seem like a given that Sean Kuraly should be penciled into the lineup night in and night out as Boston's fourth-line pivot, the rest of the bodies around him can be interchangeable — with Chris Wagner, Joakim Nordstrom, Par Lindholm, Brett Ritchie and Backes, of course, looking to fight for whatever minutes are available.

As Nordstrom gets closer and closer to a return after missing three games and the entire preseason due to a foot injury, it wouldn't come as much of a surprise if Bruce Cassidy reunites the trio of Nordstrom-Kuraly-Wagner as a tried-and-true combination that he can rely on. They check off plenty of the boxes that a bench boss would want in a fourth line — Nordstrom is a versatile winger that can log heavy minutes on the PK, Wagner is more than happy to throw his weight around on the forecheck and had a nose for the net in '18-19, while Kuraly has the rare blend of speed and skill to both drive a line and serve as a "one-man cycle". 

So where does that leave Backes, who is limited when it comes to his impact on the PK? (He averaged just 10 seconds of shorthanded TOI last season.)

That lack of special-teams acumen could put him further down the depth chart behind the likes of Nordstrom and Lindholm, who can move up and down the lineup while spelling players like Patrice Bergeron from taxing shorthanded shifts.

But on Tuesday, Cassidy was quick to note that Backes and his style of play still has a place on this club, especially when it comes to getting Boston's fourth line on a roll in the offensive zone.

"They are a line that's probably not like your typical line-rush, scoring group, like (David) Krejci's and Bergy's," Cassidy said of the Kuraly line. "Bergy's I think, is a mix, they get a lot (of scoring) off the cycle. (The fourth line) is probably more of a forecheck, create a turnover and get it to the net. But that's when the small-area plays come in handy. (Backes) could be a finisher. He's got a good shot, David. When he has time to get the shot off, he's pretty good beating goaltenders. He's just got to create the ice for himself to do that, and that's the challenge for that line when you're not a line-rush line."

The bread and butter of Backes' game may not be all that flashy, but the veteran forward did make his presence felt in Tuesday's victory over the Golden Knights —jump starting a forechecking shift that eventually led to Torey Krug's eventual game winner at 2:27 in the second period.

(Backes closes in on William Carrier and forces a turnover in Vegas' zone. Wagner assists on the forecheck — Kuraly scoops it up as the F3 and feeds it out to the blue line, where Krug blasts one home.)



Keeping Backes in the lineup could limit the Bruins on special teams, especially if the likes of Nordstrom and Lindholm are sitting out as a result. But Backes' ability to knock some bodies around in a 2-1-2 forecheck and create scoring chances down low might be what that line needs to get settled into a groove in the early going this season.

Tuesday was a step in the right direction for Backes in terms of remaining in the lineup, as Boston managed to generate a pair of high-danger scoring chances during his 12:06 of 5v5 TOI. Given the fact that David Krejci's line has only been able to generate one high-danger chance in 28:48 of ice time so far this year, Cassidy will certainly take the quality looks that are being generated by Boston's bottom-six.

Of course, the fourth line is not going to be relied upon as an offensive juggernaut — but Backes also has a pretty solid track record of keeping the puck out of the net when slotted down with Kuraly and Wagner.

Here are the numbers from a Wagner-Kuraly-Backes line in 2018-19: 100 minutes of 5v5 TOI together — 2 5v5 goals scored / 1 goal against — Bruins held a 109-75 edge in shot attempts (59.24 CF%) & a plus-22 shot differential

Those offensive numbers need a shot in the arm, but Backes' tenacious style of play fits in well with a pair of forwards that are awfully hard to play against in Wagner and Kuraly.

"We’re all simple, hard-nosed kind of players," Backes said of how he fits with Boston's fourth line. "We know pucks are gonna get deep, we’re going to work it down there. I think against Dallas, we had quite a few momentum-turning shifts when they were needed. (We're) responsible defensively, and then hopefully you add something on the offensive side of things after you pin a line in their zone for an extended time, they start to get tired and you bring a few pucks to the net and whack away."

There's no guarantee that Backes will be logging 60-plus games this season, especially once Nordstrom gets back in the fold. But if Backes can keep things simple in the O-zone, generate high-danger looks and replicate the showing he put forth on Tuesday night, it will be hard for Cassidy to keep the motivated veteran out of the lineup.