HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- In every Stanley Cup Playoff series as tight as the one between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, there always seems to be a fine line between a winner and a loser.

When the Blues won Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference First Round series, the fine line was getting a big goal late then winning in overtime.

In Games 3, 4 and 5, all victories by the Blackhawks, that fine line seems to come from the same pen, but in different variances.

The Blackhawks, who lead the best-of-7 series 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS), had goalie Corey Crawford steal a win to get the defending Stanley Cup champions on the board in Game 3. In Game 4, it was a clutch tying goal late before an overtime winner. Friday in St. Louis, it came down to a fortuitous bounce.

Those are the small details that separate the two teams, who wound up the regular season four points apart in the Central Division standings.

"It’s tight out there, it really is," Blues left wing Steve Ott said. "Both teams are extremely even in the sense of power plays, penalty killing, stuff that's been going on. It's who's going to continue to stick to that structure the best.

"I know from being in that dressing room, the character we have in this room is by far the most I've ever been part of."

ST. LOUIS -- Ken Hitchcock sure knows how to keep the media and fans guessing.

The St. Louis Blues coach continues to hold his ground when asked about captain David Backes (upper body, foot), who has missed the past two games in the Western Conference First Round series against the Chicago Blackhawks.

"No … like I said in Chicago, there's lots of rinks here in St. Louis too," Hitchcock said when asked if Backes was ruled out for Game 5 on Friday at Scottrade Center (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS2, CSN-CH, FS-MW). "You never know. [He] might just jump on the ice and be there. If he's skating in the warm-up, then you can all press send on your tweets and away you go."

HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- Despite losing two straight and seeing the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks even their Western Conference First Round series, the St. Louis Blues won't lack confidence heading into Game 5 on Friday.

Each team is unbeaten in its home arena so far in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series, and St. Louis will look to continue that trend in Game 5 at Scottrade Center (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS2, CSN-CH, FS-MW).

"Nobody's panicking ... we're not in a bad spot," Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester said Thursday. "It's tied, and we still have home ice. We have a good opportunity here. I don't think anyone's worried where we're at or anything like that. We're not.

"We knew going [to Chicago] that it was going to be tough. It's not the easiest place to play. We still have home ice; we had a couple of close games [in Games 3 and 4]. It has not been one-sided games or anything like that. You just keep going. It's a three-game series now, and that's the way you approach it."

CHICAGO -- If St. Louis Blues captain David Backes is able to play in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round series against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS, FS-MW, CSN-CH), coach Ken Hitchcock wasn't tipping his hand.

Backes was not on the ice with the Blues, who lead the best-of-7 series 2-1, for the morning skate, and Hitchcock said he wasn't available to skate, then started to have some fun with the media.

"He's not going to play unless he's healthy. You never know, he could be skating at another rink," Hitchcock said. "He could be doing something else, you don't know that stuff. There's a lot of rinks here in Chicago. So he could be doing other things. But he's not going in the lineup unless he's a player.

"If he's a player, the way he plays is going to have a huge impact in the series. So if he skated somewhere else and is in fine-tune conditioning, you'll see him [Wednesday]."

CHICAGO -- With a heavy physical toll being paid, the St. Louis Blues took the day off Wednesday before preparing for Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round Series against the Chicago Blackhawks (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS, FS-MW, CSN-CH).

The Blues lead the best-of-7 series 2-1 after Chicago won Game 3; however, the Blues felt the 2-0 loss was their best game.

"I said [Monday] night we played good but not good enough," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said from the team hotel. "There's elements of our game ... what we did well, we have to do on a more consistent basis. The push that we gave them at the end has to be consistent from the start to the finish if we expect to beat them. I said [Monday] night, they get a lot of credit for their skill level, but it's their resolve that's as strong as [heck] and we're going to have to test their resolve even further and deeper and see if we can continue to play our game."

CHICAGO -- St. Louis Blues captain David Backes (upper body) will not play in Game 3 of their Western Conference First Round series against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night (8:30 p.m. ET; CNBC, CBC, RDSI, FS-MW, CSN-CH).

Backes, who was the recipient of a hard hit from Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook at the 15:09 mark of the third period in Game 2 on Saturday, did not take the ice Sunday and was not on the ice for the Blues' morning skate.

"He's out, won't play today," said Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, who would not elaborate further on Backes' condition. "He's our No. 1 center, he plays the most minutes on the hockey club, he plays in every situation. It has to be shared. Not one person's going to be able to take the slot. We don't have that.

"We don't have somebody that can come in and say, 'OK, you've got to take his minutes.' Somebody's going to have to do extra work killing penalties, other people have got to be added, we're going to have to do a better job on faceoffs, other people are going to have to step up and take faceoffs, especially on the right side. There's like anything else: What would Chicago be like with losing [Jonathan] Toews? For us, Backes is Toews."

HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- If Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round series between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks was Sunday, one thing is certain: Blues captain David Backes would not be playing in it.

Backes, who was injured on a hit by Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook with 4:51 remaining in the third period, did not take the ice Sunday at the Blues' training facility inside the Ice Zone at St. Louis Outlet Mall for an optional skate.

"All I know is he's upright and that's about it right now," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We don't have any further information and probably won't have until late [Monday]."

HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- The lingering question hanging over the St. Louis Blues since they ended the regular season Sunday is, how can they recapture the winning ways that led to a franchise-best 52 victories?

Even with several injuries and their scoring down nearly a goal-and-a-half the final 41 games, six straight losses to end the regular season was something that needed to be overcome quickly with the Chicago Blackhawks the opponent in the Western Conference First Round.

The Blues' 4-3 triple-overtime win in Game 1 of the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series was a subtle reminder that St. Louis hasn't forgotten how to win. The Blues knew reinforcements were on the way; as veteran left wing Brenden Morrow calmly said, "The cavalry's coming."

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock has maintained that the lineup for Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round series Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS, FS-N, ALT) is fluid.

After the morning skate Thursday, there is a clearer picture of who will be in the lineup to start the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, who's missed 15 games after a hand injury sustained against the Nashville Predators on March 15, is in. Tarasenko, who originally was projected to be re-evaluated in six weeks following surgery March 19, will play with Vladimir Sobotka and Jaden Schwartz.

HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- The St. Louis Blues went through a full practice Wednesday at their training facility inside the St. Louis Mills Outlet Mall in preparation for the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The vibes after the team's first full practice since the regular season ended were positive in regards to the multiple injuries key players are dealing with, but leave it to coach Ken Hitchcock to keep everyone in suspense despite the majority of the team skating together for the first time in at least a week or more.

Game 1 of their Western Conference First Round series against the Chicago Blackhawks is Thursday at Scottrade Center (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS, FS-N, ALT).