Bruins Journal: David Backes on the move again

BOSTON -- Referring to it as a reunion would have been a stretch, but at least nothing about the situation was completely unfamiliar to David Backes.

The Bruins’ 34-year-old forward, playing his second game after missing five with what he effectively confirmed was a concussion, was moved from right wing to center for Monday night’s game against the Stars -- a switch he also made in the third game of the season. His wingers on Monday [...]

BOSTON -- Referring to it as a reunion would have been a stretch, but at least nothing about the situation was completely unfamiliar to David Backes.

The Bruins’ 34-year-old forward, playing his second game after missing five with what he effectively confirmed was a concussion, was moved from right wing to center for Monday night’s game against the Stars -- a switch he also made in the third game of the season. His wingers on Monday were Danton Heinen and Anders Bjork, with whom he skated for two games before coach Bruce Cassidy made other lineup changes.

“I think I played more center at the beginning of this season (five straight games) than I had in the rest of my time here in Boston, so I’m feeling a little bit more comfortable,” said Backes, a third-year Bruin used primarily as a right wing in the first two seasons of his five-year, $30 million contract. “That being said, getting the wings and I and the defensemen all on the same page so we can go out there and execute a game plan to get in the offensive zone and stay there for a while, and hopefully pump a few into the net -- that’s what we’ve needed as a team.”

Backes, hurt in his fifth game at center when Oilers defenseman Matt Benning caught him with a high hit on Oct. 18 (Ryan Donato and Chris Wagner were his wings that night) returned to the lineup in Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Nashville. He played right wing at even strength with Bjork (left wing) and center Joakim Nordstrom, saw time on the Bruins’ second power-play unit, and helped kill penalties. Backes landed two shots on goal and had a third attempt blocked in 13 minutes, 17 seconds of ice time, but remained scoreless through eight games this season.

“I was trying to get my legs under me,” he said. “I felt effective at times, and other times I felt the game was moving kind of fast. I was maybe a little panicky with the puck on a couple touches.”

Backes didn’t experience any morning-after effects on Sunday, though.

“I chased my kids around,” he said. “I’m a little mad at the daylight’s savings, because they don’t understand that, and they still get up at the same time.”

NET RESULTS: The Bruins’ schedule, more than recent results, influenced Cassidy’s decision to use Tuukka Rask over the hotter Jaroslav Halak on Monday night. Halak (4-1-2, 1.45, .952), who made 39 saves in his first regulation loss on Saturday, played for the fifth time in seven games. The B’s, meanwhile, were playing the first of five games in nine nights.

“With five games in this stretch, there’s no way (Halak) would play all five of them, even if he had pitched a shutout” against the Predators, Cassidy said. “It just wouldn’t happen. It’s too early in the year, I think, to tax a goalie.”

Rask played on Monday for the first time since allowing two goals on 22 shots in a 3-0 loss to the Canadiens on Oct. 27. His performance against the Stars was likely to influence the rotation for upcoming home games against the Canucks (Thursday), Maple Leafs (Saturday) and Golden Knights (Saturday).

“We knew we’d use both” goalies in this congested stretch, the coach said. “It’ll be a little more difficult as the week goes on, depending on how (Halak and Rask) play.”

AROUND THE BOARDS: The Bruins recalled gritty winger Anton Blidh (2-4--6, 19 penalty minutes in 11 games) from AHL Providence in case Chris Wagner (lower body injury) couldn’t play, but Wagner was in the lineup … Matt Grzelcyk, who had missed the previous two games with a lower body injury, returned to the lineup, so rookie Jeremy Lauzon was scratched … The Red Sox, represented by owner John Henry, president/CEO Sam Kennedy and reliever Joe Kelly, finished the team’s tour of local major pro teams by bringing the World Series trophy to TD Garden for an on-ice, pre-game ceremony.