David Backes thinks the team needs to ignore the predictions that the St. Louis Blues will win the Stanley Cup in the 2014 playoffs. Backes felt the same was true when the predictions about the Blues were far less favorable years ago. "While they're the geniuses and the experts, they don't play the games and the games aren't played on paper in the preseason," Backes said. "It's 82 games of hard-nosed hockey." On top of that, in the salary cap era there's rarely a clear favorite to win the Stanley Cup going into the regular season. The Blues certainly have a shot, but Backes is right, they have a lot of work ahead of them.