Yep. He follows through very high with his hands and stick.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...ailpage&v=cJPWSWttVGI#t=2

I stopped and embedded the video where you can see Mackinnon' stick on Backes head. He then follows through with the stick hitting Backes on the helmet. I only noticed as I was there and that part of the play came right towards us. It looked like he got the butt end in the face with the stick then coming down on his helmet. I'm not saying Mackinnon was trying to do it just that it happened in the course of the play and that I would likely have reacted similar.

EDIT - hmm that embedding at time wasn't all that helpful..oh well it's only like 2 seconds in. lol
- stljam

No.

Backes comes in high and late (as is his M.O.) and he gets put on his ass. If he gets hit in the head, it's as he's tumbling to the ice. Then because his ego is bruised from being shown up by a rookie (how dare he, doesn't he know I'm the great David Backes?) he jumps him. It's a loser play, from a loser captain.

He is so incredibly streaky. Watch a full season of him playing and I don't think it will be that unbelievable.
- PancakesPenner

Do you think LA would entertain the thought of moving him or possibly Mike Richards this offseason?

Do you think LA would entertain the thought of moving him or possibly Mike Richards this offseason?
- joshFreeman

If a team came to Lombardi with an offer for either of them that he felt would help the team, I'm sure he would do it. I don't think either of them are on the short list of untouchables the Kings have. With the way they've played this season though I doubt that phone on Dean's desk will be ringing any time soon.

The Blues sucked in the 3rd period, if Miller wants 7 million or more I think the Blues let him walk.

Hats off to the Blues and their fans for a great season. A shame these two teams didn't meet in the conference finals because this series certainly had that look to it.
All of the games except for game 6 could have gone either way. The biggest difference is the Blues still need a couple of forwards who can finish.

Tarasenko is a monster and the Blues have some serious talent. Obviously they went all in with Miller and Ott and it didn't work out. And what's worse you guys gave up some high end picks and some decent talent going the other way.
The Blues were the pick most the season to go all the way. Questions now surround the GM and the coach. Hitch is a solid guy who's won a cup, but his shelf life may have run out on this team. Not sure about Armstrong, but it sounds like several folks aren't happy with several of his moves.

As far as Backes much has been said. He's got a lot of talent, but I don't care for his game either. While he hasn't been suspended but once, his crosscheck from behind knocking Hossa into the goal after he scored in Game 5 was typical of the types of plays he makes. Off the ice you have to be a fan especially after what he did in Sochi for all of those stray pups.

Best of luck in the offseason.

Backus has been doing his best to turn Toews into a vegatable for several seasons. The zebras turn a blind eye because "that's his game," so therefor he isn't dirty. The logic here is laughable.

PS: Enjoy your baseball. [/img]

This is franking ignorant. Too bad you're not as classy as the organization you cheer for.
- fifty__missions

How's what he said ignorant? Last season's TDL champion was PGH. Remember all the hype? How'd that work?

I seem to remember they mustered up 2 goals in 4+ games vs the B's. The same number of goals the 'Hawks later got in 17 SECONDS.

Many folks wondered why the Blues went after Miller. Goaltending was not their biggest weakness.

Oh, and one other thing: Nineteen Sixty Seven. Enjoy the rest of the Leafs' 5-1/2 month off-season.

I caught many games of this series

Be weary of signing miller
But giving away as much as the blues did in the trade - do blues fans feel like you have to sign him

quote=MTL1]I caught many games of this series

Be weary of signing miller
But giving away as much as the blues did in the trade - do blues fans feel like you have to sign him

I honestly don't think Miller was the issue. I think we resign him for 5mill for 3 years. He needed more time to get used to our team. Our biggest problems:
Our pp.

The fact that Backes couldn't even turn his head.

The Blues missed tons of open nets ( I counted 4 in game 5)

Oshie was not himself until game 4 (another dirty hit).

Schwartz disappeared.

Horrible line change in OT of game 5 that gave Toews a breakaway.

Berglund was out and never himself.

Morrow had a broken foot and still played.

Roy should have been benched the whole series.

We should have used Paarjarvi and his speed.

Tarasenkos line did not get enough ice time.

Miller let in some softies but honestly he pretty much won us games 1 and 2. He can't do it all.

Meh its a set back for Stlouis ,but they will get there .Schwartz and Tasernko will eventually become the teams top line players ,and Backes an Oshie will become second line studs

Backes is not a dirty player. He makes clean hits and has never ONCE been suspended. He doesn't go after players knees ( cough Bickell). He showed a lot of heart and leadership in this series. He was playing with sevear neck pain (thanks to your goon Seabrook) and a broken toe. He is not the problem. The lack of high end scoring is. That may change next year as Tarasenko will only get better. He is still only 21. Hopefully Rattie will help too.

Obviously, your hatred for him pretty much tells me he is doing his job.
- cuethenoise

Is his job to agitate or win? Maybe you should recreate his job expectations

Everyone cut the crap. Keep the name calling and slamming to yourselves or messages. We don't need that in here or I'll start having your posts removed.

As for Backes being dirty, please tell me how many times he has been suspended? He was given a match penalty and a game misconduct once, which was quickly recessed by the league because it was clearly a terrible call from the official. So please explain how dirty Backes is as a player?
- Randall_Ritchey

It is amazing how team blog hosts start looking for excuses to pull posts.

I'll take the Backes explanation on, sonce i am one of the senior hockey watchers here.
If you would have asked me which two players I could take for my team from each of the Olympic rosters, Backes would be on my list as one of the pair.
Because if I could imaginarily add him to the Blackhawks he is what he is but not the centerpiece.
He's a bigger Shaw.
But the only difference is I have seen this guy throughout his career in games that his team was destined to take a loss, he has NEVER failed to "set the tone" with end of game nasty that they know the refs are not going to come down hard on, because of the score. The stick work, over zealous after the whistle liberties, and blatant deliverance of late punishments, disguised in the spirit of the game. Hartnell is also a master at this. They know that the refs are not gonna take more than one losing team guy off with one call, so they basically play the odds b/c the refs want competitive play until the end and really try to not send backes or the minions off for the last ten minutes, hopefully giving enough warnings to calm him down. Threats of refs that their going to remember this for a future game eventually sink through the skulls.
Now lest get to this series:
The Seabrook hit came after the mid ice play where Handzus and Ben Smith had the puck on the boards by the bench. (They were paired with two Blues.) If you have this on tape, watch Backus blatantly aim at ankles and backs of legs with his "attempts" to get the puck out. That was what caught Seabrook's attention and why he served up the dummy.

Probably the best thing that happened in this series was that illegal hit of backus w/o the puck forced the league officiating to direct the on-ice officiating teams to start warning the Reaves, Otts, and Lapierre's that they were setting their team up for many a call. They were told to take control of theseries were one team initiated running amock. The refs in the name of selling playoff hockey basically let the Blues (and later the Hawks) continue to play in those first three games and ignored the stick work, legwork, washes and also probably missed much of it, because good dirty players pick their spots, and I don't think you really believe they added Morrow, Lapierre and Ott for additional scoring, right?

I also thought Backes was pretty classy at the handshake, but it serves no purpose to try and intimidate anyone there.

The player has a large amount of skill but seems to continually get emotional thrown to being an unchecked bully especailly when he is shown up, or his team has been shown up. I totally understand it, but call it what it is - don't hide from the reality of what you have in backes.


There is place for players like him in the league, but don't attempt to convince yourself because you are the blog host that he is anything more than he is a second line centre, first line power wing.
It is enough that the St. Louis papers and their beat writers have tried to spin things away from reality...one team was built to punish, so they could move one...from the start they attempted to do so.

The other team was built to use quickness and attack.

Blues fans think he's clean, but Hawks fans think he's the dirtiest player ever? I'm shocked.


- PancakesPenner

I'd be shocked if you ever saw a hockey game at any level before Gretzky got traded to L.A.

Backus has been doing his best to turn Toews into a vegatable for several seasons. The zebras turn a blind eye because "that's his game," so therefor he isn't dirty. The logic here is laughable.

- Q...argh

After various times Toews came back after head injuries/concussion, Hitch joked about how he was going to target him with Backus. You can find that on tape too.

Believe me I try to be objective.

But all this talk about Oshie getting a dirty hit and this guy getting a dirty hit...I say go back and watch the first couple games - you get to see very clearly which team was intent on trying to heap on quantities of behind the play junk, behind the backs of the zebras...I am just asking you to re-visit it...and eventually the Hawks started answering. You can't expect hockey players to not stand up if the rules aren't enforced.

You'll never win a cup with Steen as your best forward. The Blues just don't have the elite finishers other Western Contenders do.
- RogerRoeper

But they have to really good shoot out guys in Oshie & Tarasenko, so as long as the stupid shoot-out exists, they can win (or almost win in the division).

It is amazing how team blog hosts start looking for excuses to pull posts.

I'll take the Backes explanation on, sonce i am one of the senior hockey watchers here.
If you would have asked me which two players I could take for my team from each of the Olympic rosters, Backes would be on my list as one of the pair.
Because if I could imaginarily add him to the Blackhawks he is what he is but not the centerpiece.
He's a bigger Shaw.
But the only difference is I have seen this guy throughout his career in games that his team was destined to take a loss, he has NEVER failed to "set the tone" with end of game nasty that they know the refs are not going to come down hard on, because of the score. The stick work, over zealous after the whistle liberties, and blatant deliverance of late punishments, disguised in the spirit of the game. Hartnell is also a master at this. They know that the refs are not gonna take more than one losing team guy off with one call, so they basically play the odds b/c the refs want competitive play until the end and really try to not send backes or the minions off for the last ten minutes, hopefully giving enough warnings to calm him down. Threats of refs that their going to remember this for a future game eventually sink through the skulls.
Now lest get to this series:
The Seabrook hit came after the mid ice play where Handzus and Ben Smith had the puck on the boards by the bench. (They were paired with two Blues.) If you have this on tape, watch Backus blatantly aim at ankles and backs of legs with his "attempts" to get the puck out. That was what caught Seabrook's attention and why he served up the dummy.

Probably the best thing that happened in this series was that illegal hit of backus w/o the puck forced the league officiating to direct the on-ice officiating teams to start warning the Reaves, Otts, and Lapierre's that they were setting their team up for many a call. They were told to take control of theseries were one team initiated running amock. The refs in the name of selling playoff hockey basically let the Blues (and later the Hawks) continue to play in those first three games and ignored the stick work, legwork, washes and also probably missed much of it, because good dirty players pick their spots, and I don't think you really believe they added Morrow, Lapierre and Ott for additional scoring, right?

I also thought Backes was pretty classy at the handshake, but it serves no purpose to try and intimidate anyone there.

The player has a large amount of skill but seems to continually get emotional thrown to being an unchecked bully especailly when he is shown up, or his team has been shown up. I totally understand it, but call it what it is - don't hide from the reality of what you have in backes.


There is place for players like him in the league, but don't attempt to convince yourself because you are the blog host that he is anything more than he is a second line centre, first line power wing.
It is enough that the St. Louis papers and their beat writers have tried to spin things away from reality...one team was built to punish, so they could move one...from the start they attempted to do so.

The other team was built to use quickness and attack.
- wiz1901

I think a lot of us like Backes on the wing, but when he is healthy he is one of the best 2-way players in the NHL. He should be up for the Selke. He plays tons of minutes against other teams top lines and still chips in goals.

I think a lot of us like Backes on the wing, but when he is healthy he is one of the best 2-way players in the NHL. He should be up for the Selke. He plays tons of minutes against other teams top lines and still chips in goals.
- cuethenoise

Yep when Schwartz and Tasrenko ,have finished developing their games at the nhl level .He will be an elite number two center,this to me is Stlouis ,s only problem .Their top line hasnt developed yet ,it will come

Yep when Schwartz and Tasrenko ,have finished developing their games at the nhl level .He will be an elite number two center,this to me is Stlouis ,s only problem .Their top line hasnt developed yet ,it will come

- top shelf 15

I agree we still need a number one center though. I think we pick up Stasny this summer.

I agree we still need a number one center though. I think we pick up Stasny this summer.
- cuethenoise

I dont think the blues will go all in on a big ticket FA .When all they need is a shorter term solution,just to buy thier kids some time .

i kept my mouth shut all year on this team on this website till today...

Hitchcock & staff should be fired immediately. i never like the hiring based on past performance in PHI & CBJ his coaching style wears on players. Dallas doesn't count where he got one CUP in the 20th century a different era of hockey.

Miller trade was one of the dumbest moves of all time should have rode Halak and if he failed then you get a new goalie in FA or for god's sake let Jake Allen have a chance that's why you drafted him. now we are out picks and players because of this. i'm not even sure why Armstrong should keep his job. (i miss Jarmo he did all the drafting anyways!!)

i give credit to Armstrong going for it because the Central is going to get even tougher next few seasons but man did the coaches and GM BLOW IT BIG TIME!!! and should all pay with there jobs!

if Armstrong (better yet put Jarmo in GM) left the team alone and stayed the course 3 years ago Bishop, Eller and probably Perron would still be here and team would be hell of lot better they been last 2 years in the playoffs and still have those #1's picks hindsight is 20/20 but it is hard to ignore.

Tom Stillman you have some hockey soul searching since you are the chairman!
- bird diggler

Isn't hindsight wonderful?!?!

Not one thing I agree with here other than DA did the right thing by going for it.

Can we put this Ben Bishop thing to rest already? Go back and look at the situation again in context and the Blues had no choice at the time.

Not to mention the fact that Ottawa also jettisoned Bishop.


I'll be you were against the Blues resigning Geoff Courtnall to a new contract because you could see his concussion coming a mile away, you just held off commenting about it at the time.....

Isn't hindsight wonderful?!?!

Not one thing I agree with here other than DA did the right thing by going for it.

Can we put this Ben Bishop thing to rest already? Go back and look at the situation again in context and the Blues had no choice at the time.

oNt to mention the fact that Ottawa also jettisoned Bishop.


I'll be you were against the Blues resigning Geoff Courtnall to a new contract because you could see his concussion coming a mile away, you just held off commenting about it at the time.....
- bcallaway

To be fair ,we took the best deal to be had for him at the time .People forget when we traded him he was 27 and 30 nhl games under his belt .

I honestly don't think Miller was the issue. I think we resign him for 5mill for 3 years. He needed more time to get used to our team. Our biggest problems:
Our pp.

The fact that Backes couldn't even turn his head.

The Blues missed tons of open nets ( I counted 4 in game 5)

Oshie was not himself until game 4 (another dirty hit).

Schwartz disappeared.

Horrible line change in OT of game 5 that gave Toews a breakaway.

Berglund was out and never himself.

Morrow had a broken foot and still played.

Roy should have been benched the whole series.

We should have used Paarjarvi and his speed.

Tarasenkos line did not get enough ice time.

Miller let in some softies but honestly he pretty much won us games 1 and 2. He can't do it all.
- cuethenoise

There have been times when I've said this on the Hawks blog in the past.

Believe it or not you just might want to attribute the Blues losing to: Crawford was significantly better than Miller and the Hawks simply had too much firepower that the Blues could not match. There were certain Blues fans who argued their blue line was better than the Hawks - simply not true and that showed up in this series.

Who is this Tarasenkos guy you speak of?

There have been times when I've said this on the Hawks blog in the past.

Believe it or not you just might want to attribute the Blues losing to: Crawford was significantly better than Miller and the Hawks simply had too much firepower that the Blues could not match. There were certain Blues fans who argued their blue line was better than the Hawks - simply not true and that showed up in this series.

Who is this Tarasenkos guy you speak of?
- CaptainBlackhawk

Best top 6 in the game ,Stlouis will get there iam sure

There have been times when I've said this on the Hawks blog in the past.

Believe it or not you just might want to attribute the Blues losing to: Crawford was significantly better than Miller and the Hawks simply had too much firepower that the Blues could not match. There were certain Blues fans who argued their blue line was better than the Hawks - simply not true and that showed up in this series.

Who is this Tarasenkos guy you speak of?
- CaptainBlackhawk

Sorry I forgot the apostrophe. I was typing this on my phone. I think we have the better offensive D guys, but you guys have a better balance of offense and physicality. I think we need to trade Shattenkirk (I hear the Oilers are looking) as he is too much of a liability and finally let Ian "The Bonecrusher" Cole take his spot. IMO Crawford wasn't that much better than Miller you guys just finished while we whiffed on wide open nets. Good luck against the Aves, your going to need it!

Sorry I forgot the apostrophe. I was typing this on my phone. I think we have the better offensive D guys, but you guys have a better balance of offense and physicality. I think we need to trade Shattenkirk (I hear the Oilers are looking) as he is too much of a liability and finally let Ian "The Bonecrusher" Cole take his spot. IMO Crawford wasn't that much better than Miller you guys just finished while we whiffed on wide open nets. Good luck against the Aves, your going to need it!
- cuethenoise

The Blues do NOT have the better offensive/defenseman.

Crawford 1.98 GAA, .935 SV%, Crawford also saw 30 more shots
Miller 2.70 GAA, .897 SV%

Yes. Crawford was significantly better than Miller. Please do not use an excuse of whiffing on open nets - the Hawks did as well. The shots on goal disparity is really a direct result of some downright brutal officiating in this series. When you have one team throughout an 82 game schedule who was the 2nd least penalized team in hockey and the other is the 2nd most, the penalties should have a rather wide disparity the other way.. that didn't happen.

Thank you for the note. I will say this: I think the Hawks just beat their prime competition in the West.