David Backes Injury: Updates on Blues Captain's Foot and Return

Updates from Thursday, April 17

David Backes will play in Thursday's series opener (via the Blackhawks and Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun Times):

Updates from Wednesday, April 16

The St. Louis Blues have updated David Backes' status:

Backes later spoke about the injury and his recovery (via Lou Korac of NHL.com):

Updates from Tuesday, April 15

Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the latest on David Backes:

Original Text

The St. Louis Blues will be heading into the NHL postseason with the status of one of their offensive stars up in the air, as David Backes will miss the remainder of the regular season with a foot injury.  

Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the news on Thursday:

"

The Blues will be without captain David Backes tonight against Minnesota and perhaps for the final three games of the regular season.

Backes is wearing a walking boot after being hit in the left foot on a shot by teammate Alexander Steen in the second period of a 4-1 loss to Washington.

Backes played one more shift before heading to the team's locker room; he did not return. The Blues had not commented on the seriousness of the injury until today.

"

Rutherford also spoke to both Backes and Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock, as he shared on Twitter:

While Backes appears as though he'll be back for the playoffs, the Blues are now currently without both him and Vladimir Tarasenko. Combined, the two players have registered 100 points, with Backes second on the team with 27 goals, while Tarasenko has contributed 21.

Tarasenko did practice on Monday, however, according to Lou Korac of NHL.com:

Tarasenko's injury was originally slated to keep him out six weeks, so his return seems far from imminent.

The Blues have struggled at times to score goals this year, so getting both players back as quickly as possible in the playoffs will be vital for the team. The Blues are one of the strongest teams in the NHL at 111 points, tops in the Central Division, so anything less than a trip to the Stanley Cup will be disappointing.

Thankfully, it appears Backes will be good to go in time. The Blues will certainly need his goal-scoring abilities.