CHICAGO -- St. Louis Blues forward David Backes will not play against the Blackhawks in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round series Monday due to an upper-body injury, coach Ken Hitchcock said.
Blues forward Patrik Berglund will play Monday after missing the last three games with an upper-body injury. He had 14 goals, 18 assists and a plus-10 rating in 78 regular-season games.
Backes suffered his injury when Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook's shoulder connected with his head late in the third period in Game 2. Backes struggled to stand after the hit and did not return to the game.
Seabrook was given a three-game suspension for the hit on Sunday.
Backes had 27 goals, 30 assists, a plus-14 rating and an average ice time of 19:33 in 74 regular-season games this season. He had one assist in the first two games against the Blackhawks.
"Look, he's our No. 1 center," Hitchcock said of the Blues' captain. "He plays the most minutes on the hockey club. He plays in every situation. It has to be shared. Not one person is going to be able to take this slot. We don't have that.
"Like anything else, what would Chicago be like losing [Jonathan] Toews? For us, Backes is Toews. So it's a big hole, but I think we're more equipped with Berglund in our lineup."
