What It Means:

Backes didn't skate on Monday, but he did participate in Tuesday's practice. He missed the Blues last three regular season contests with the goal of being ready for the start of the playoffs. "That was my mindset from the get-go, that Game 1 I'd be full bore," he said. "When you get the adrenaline running, you can play through a lot of stuff. Even with little-to-no-adrenaline today, we're feeling well. So we're a go."

Backes tallied 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists) in 79 games played this season. His Corsi For Percentage of 51.1 and his Relative Corsi For at Even Strength of -1.9 were both worse than his career averages (52.5 and 0.5 respectively). We currently give the Blues a 6.52 percent chance of winning the Stanley Cup, which is seventh highest among the playoff teams.