Not skating this morning is not a good sign that Backes will be available tonight after suffering an upper-body injury vs. the Stars on Tuesday. Expect an update following the skate.

You can probably expect the Blues to contend once again for the Western Conference title as Head Coach Ken Hitchcock will have his team ready and raring to go come opening night. They signed free agent C Paul Stastny to strengthen their team down the middle and decided to give Brian Elliott the chance to backstop the team on a full time basis. Will the subtractions and additions be enough to make it to the Cup Finals?  That's why they play the game. GOALIES There is no denying that Elliott possesses the talent to be a number 1 goaltender in the NHL, but it took a while for a team to finally give him that chance. All he has done while playing under Hitchcock is post GAA of 1.56, 2.28 and 1.96, so you can see he deserves the opportunity to carry the load.  The team has put so much faith in Elliott, that they let Jaroslav Halak walk and gave the backup role to Jake Allen. You too should put your faith in Elliott to carry your fantasy hockey team this season.  After all, he has performed consistently over the past few years. DEFENSE The Blues possess two solid offensive d-men in Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk, both capable of being any team's number 1 blueliner. They are so similar that you can call them 1A and 1B and both are entering their prime years at 24 and 25 respectively.  Jay Bouwmeester has been a nice addition the over the past two years and should contribute as well as provide solid defense in front of Elliott and Allen. Jordan Leopold and Carl Gunnarsson, coming over from Toronto in June, give the Blues solid, veteran depth on the back end. FORWARDS St. Louis can drive the fantasy poolie crazy with their depth of forwards and how Hitchcock rotates his lines so they stay fresh. One line will be hot for a 2-week stretch and then it's a different line taking over the offensive responsibilities, thereby keeping other teams on their heels.  Players like David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Jaden Schwartz, Alexander Steen, and Vladimir Tarasenko would be counted on more so on other teams than they are in Hitchcock's system, but it's this system that keeps all the forwards fresh throughout the long season. The addition of Stastny reinforces that depth and makes all the forwards legitimate candidates to get 50+ points across the board.  Steen had himself a career year where he eclipsed his previous high of 51 in 2010-2011 with St. Louis by 11 points. Perhaps a pullback to the 50+ range is more appropriate.  Also factoring into that equation might be...

Backes was a gametime decision for Game 4 so his return tonight is a strong possibility. The Blues are not giving any indication on his status prior to warmups.

Good news for the Blues as it looks like Backes will return this series - potentially when Seabrook returns from his suspension - if the series ends up going 6 or 7 games.

Backes missed the last three games of the regular season with a foot injury, but he will play on Thursday in game vs. Chicago. Backes had 27 goals and 30 assists in 74 games this season--two goals and one assist came in five games vs. the Blackhawks.

Blues' head coach Ken Hitchcock said that Backes "should be OK" for the playoffs. Bakes is in a walking boot which obviously is not a good sight for Blues fans, but it does not necessarily mean the injury is serious. The Blues will take all the necessary precautions to make sure their captain is ready to go in the playoffs.

Backes left Tuesday's game after he was hit by a shot on the foot. There is a good chance he only suffered a bruised foot and the Blues will let him sit and rest for the playoffs next week.

Whenever you are dealing with the final week of the regular season, injuries to starting players can be crippling for fantasy owner's championship hopes. I, being the perfect example, am in a "dogfight" for top honors in my Super Terrific League but now have to deal with the inevitable loss to starting goalie Ben Bishop. The Lightning's hulking backstopper left last night's game early in the first period due to a UBI, presumably related to his shoulder even though there were conflicting accounts regarding his oft-injured wrist. Nonetheless, Tampa coach Jon Cooper did not sound overly optimistic after the game, stating that Bishop will not be available for Thursday's game. With a 37-14-7 record plus a 2.23 GAA and a .924 SP, the youngster had established himself as one of fantasy's upper-tier NHL netminders, so losing him for basically an entire week is a huge blow. St. Louis center David Backes was also injured last night after being hit by a puck and left the game with an UBI. The severity of the injurity is not known yet, but clearly the versatile pivot is "fantasy gold" in multi-category formats that also award PIMs and Plus/Minus. In 74 games, Backes recorded 27 goals, 57 points, +14 rating, and 119 PIM. As valuable as they come.. Winger Jason Pominville helped the Minnesota Wild secure a playoff spot with his electrifying 3-point (2G/1A) performance in the 4-3 SO win over Boston. With 29 goals and 57 points on the season, the 31-year old needs 3 points over the last two games to reach the 60-point mark for the 6th time in his 8 full seasons. A remarkably consistent mid-level forward who has decent upside, as made evident by his two 70+ point seasons. That Jason Spezza is something else, continually epitomizing the true definition of a "second half guy". The Ottawa center scored two goals and an assist in the 4-1 win over the New York Islanders, giving him 33 points over the last 28 games. It's almost a definite lock that Spezza perennially represents one of the most valuable "buy-low" fantasy targets around mid-season, considering he always puts up elite numbers over the last half of the NHL campaign. Despite only registering one assist over the last five games, Philadelphia's top center Claude Giroux remains one of the NHL's best fantasy forwards to own for years to come. His 2 goals in the victory over Florida kept the Flyers alive for playoff home-ice advantage in the first round, while he personally reached the 80-point mark for the second time...

Whenever you are dealing with the final week of the regular season, injuries to starting players can be crippling for fantasy owner's championship hopes. I, being the perfect example, am in a "dogfight" for top honors in my Super Terrific League but now have to deal with the inevitable loss to starting goalie Ben Bishop. The Lightning's hulking backstopper left last night's game early in the first period due to a UBI, presumably related to his shoulder even though there were conflicting accounts regarding his oft-injured wrist. Nonetheless, Tampa coach Jon Cooper did not sound overly optimistic after the game, stating that Bishop will not be available for Thursday's game. With a 37-14-7 record plus a 2.23 GAA and a .924 SP, the youngster had established himself as one of fantasy's upper-tier NHL netminders, so losing him for basically an entire week is a huge blow. St. Louis center David Backes was also injured last night after being hit by a puck and left the game with an UBI. The severity of the injurity is not known yet, but clearly the versatile pivot is "fantasy gold" in multi-category formats that also award PIMs and Plus/Minus. In 74 games, Backes recorded 27 goals, 57 points, +14 rating, and 119 PIM. As valuable as they come.. Winger Jason Pominville helped the Minnesota Wild secure a playoff spot with his electrifying 3-point (2G/1A) performance in the 4-3 SO win over Boston. With 29 goals and 57 points on the season, the 31-year old needs 3 points over the last two games to reach the 60-point mark for the 6th time in his 8 full seasons. A remarkably consistent mid-level forward who has decent upside, as made evident by his two 70+ point seasons. That Jason Spezza is something else, continually epitomizing the true definition of a "second half guy". The Ottawa center scored two goals and an assist in the 4-1 win over the New York Islanders, giving him 33 points over the last 28 games. It's almost a definite lock that Spezza perennially represents one of the most valuable "buy-low" fantasy targets around mid-season, considering he always puts up elite numbers over the last half of the NHL campaign. Despite only registering one assist over the last five games, Philadelphia's top center Claude Giroux remains one of the NHL's best fantasy forwards to own for years to come. His 2 goals in the victory over Florida kept the Flyers alive for playoff home-ice advantage in the first round, while he personally reached the 80-point mark for the second time...

Good morning, folks. I will be starting today's writing festivities only to be relieved by Mike, alias "Romer", very shortly. I figured that since my last DP title focused on the emergence of an up-and-coming fantasy star in the NHL, Gustav Nyquist, I would give him another "shout-out" since he doesn't know how to slow down. Two more goals for the budding center in Detroit's 4-2 defeat to Columbus, giving him 25 tallies in just 47 games. He looks to be the real deal for the remainder of the season and beyond. Don't be shocked if Nyquist delivers a huge 75+ point breakout season in '14-15. He is on the verge of greatness.. Our two "mad-hatters" of the evening were David Backes and Joe Pavelski, who each delivered "hat tricks" for their respective clubs. Backes has absolutely more fantasy value in multi-category leagues, while Pavelski has been a scoring machine with 37 goals and 71 points in 74 games. His time has arrived as an elite fantasy option in standard formats. The "Price Is Right" once again, as All-Star goalie Carey Price returned to action for Montreal in triumphant fashion by blanking the Buffalo Sabres. Get him in your lineup ASAP, as he will be looking to sharpen his skills prior to the Hab's playoff run. After not collecting a point for 8 straight games, Columbus defender James Wisniewski spear-headed the offense with three assists. With 42 points in 65 games, the "Wiz" has been fantasy gold for his owners this season. Keep your eye on Washington rookie Evgeni Kuznetsov who continues to impress with a clutch goal (his first NHL goal) for Washington in the waning moments of regulation against Los Angeles. If Niklas Backstrom misses some time, left the game with an upper body injury, the youngster might be in store for a more expanded offensive role for the remainder of the season. For those in need of defensive help, Toronto's Jake Gardiner has come alive in recent weeks. Another goal and an assist last night giving him 8 points in the last 10 games. Romer takes over. Phoenix right wing Shane Doan is not yet done at 37 years old as he had 2 assists last night and now has 43 points on the season with 20 goals. Not terrible, plus he has 4 points in his last 5 games. It was "Ovie" time for Washington as Alexander Ovechkin had 2 goals and an assist last night but the Capitals still lost to LA. Dustin Brown had a big night for the Kings with a goal and an assist, but please, he only has 25 points on the year. Right wing Colin McDonald had 2 ...