Blues' Backes, Tarasenko fight at practice
The St. Louis Blues have taken on the personality of their captain, David Backes, who plays the center position like a linebacker and sometimes plays hockey as if it were wrestling on skates.
The team's unruly spirit was on display during practice Wednesday, when Backes got into something of a tilt with Blues leading scorer Vladimir Tarasenko.
Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Lou Korac of NHL.com have more:
#stlblues scrum at practice. Backes and Tarasenko had to be separated. Play has resumed.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) November 26, 2014
Backes and Tarasenko were in a battle drill. Backes took exception and dropped gloves. He and Tarasenko argued after broken up. #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) November 26, 2014
Looked like an errant Tarasenko stick caught Backes in the mouth, and he already had a nice gash from stick in Winnipeg Sunday. #stlblues
— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) November 26, 2014
Korac adds that cooler heads ultimately prevailed, though it's still worth noting that head coach Ken Hitchcock had a lengthy chat with his charges after practice.
The Blues' rough and tumble, defense-only approach has carried them to sustained regular-season success during the Hitchcock era. Once the playoffs begin, however, the Blues haven't had the offensive push to keep up with the likes of the Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings or San Jose Sharks.
But Tarasenko's line with Jaden Schwartz and Jori Lehtera has been so good, and so dangerous offensively, it may have changed that equation. Now that the Blues boast a dynamic secondary group, which they've grafted onto their burly, physical core, they're a team with a legitimate shot.
That is so long as it all blends together harmoniously.