Player of the Week | David Backes
David Backes posted three consecutive multi-point games to punctuate a fantastic December for the winger – a month he was, at one point, expected to miss entirely.
David Backes
Dec. 26-December 31, 2017
3-3–6 over 3GP
Three consecutive multi-point games
David Backes posted three consecutive multi-point games to punctuate a fantastic December for the winger – a month he was at one point expected to miss entirely.
Backes helped the Boston Bruins pick up their fifth straight win Wednesday in a 5-1 victory over the visiting Ottawa Senators. The 33-year-old contributed five shots on net, a goal and an assist in his second consecutive multi-point night, following a two-assist game Dec. 23 vs. Detroit Red Wings.
The veteran leader was named the game's first star the very next night in Washington as the Bruins fell to the Capitals 4-3 in a shootout. Backes picked up his sixth and seventh goals of the season by opening the scoring and notching the game's last regulation goal for the Bruins before Brett Connolly struck in the final frame to force overtime for the Caps.
The Bruins continued their road trip to Ottawa, where the team extended their point streak to eight (6-0-2), where Backes' teammate Tuukka Rask turned aside 25 saves for his 40th NHL career shutout. Backes himself led all Boston forwards with 18:02 of ice time while notching two helpers and a blocked shot over the course of the 5-0 victory.
With 25 saves in a 5-0 blanking for the @NHLBruins Saturday, #40 turned in his 40th NHL career shutout. Congrats to Tuukka Rask! pic.twitter.com/E5jqhiTvkW
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) December 31, 2017
Backes' 11 points in the last two weeks of December becomes even more impressive when factoring in that he was projected to miss the entire month after having colon surgery November 2. The winger cut an estimated eight-week recovery period in half by missing just four weeks before returning to play, and is looking to be up to the task of making up for lost time, having tallied 14 points in 15 games since his return to play November 29.
It would be an understatement to say that Backes entered the week on a high note as his wife Kelly gave birth to son Dawson Michael – the couple’s second child – on Saturday, Dec. 23.
Returning to the ice from the holiday break Jan. 2 at Barclays Center to face the New York Islanders, Backes could set a career-high with a fifth multi-point game (which would best his four-game multi-point streak in the 2014-15 season when he recorded 10 points).
More on David Backes
Complete listing of the 2017-18 NHLPA.com Players of the Week here