Backes Taking Full Advantage of 'Second Life' in Anaheim

Mired in a three-game losing streak and struggling to get pucks on net, the Ducks were looking for inspiration wherever they could get it. Tuesday night in LA, it came from an extraordinary source.
Anaheim's veteran fourth line of Nic Deslauriers, Carter Rowney and David Backes made their presence felt extremely early and ultimately often in a 3-1 victory over the rival Kings that was unquestionably the Ducks' best performance of the season.

Deslauriers ignited things just three seconds after the opening faceoff, picking a fight with Kings defenseman Kurtis MacDermid that set a tone for the night. And he bookended that by slamming the door on the game with an
empty net goal
that gave the Ducks a two-goal cushion with under a minute left. He also had an assist in earning the coveted Gordie Howe hat trick (fight, goal and assist in a single game).
Rowney had an assist and four hits while providing defense on the outside that helped hold the Kings to just 21 shots on the night while Anaheim got off a season-high 43. His gorgeous feed from behind the net that Backes finished just 17 seconds into the middle frame was all Anaheim needed to hang on to win. All three linemates teamed up on the score, as Deslauriers kept the puck alive and slipped it down low to Rowney to start the sequence.

Deslauriers and Rowney have been doing it all season, but the contribution from the 36-year-old Backes is especially notable since he started the campaign on Anaheim's taxi squad and only got into the lineup when Derek Grant was sidelined with an upper body injury. It was another instance of Backes taking advantage of getting a new life in Anaheim, after the Boston Bruins parted ways with him last season. The Ducks snatched him up in a trade in February of last year that also brought Anaheim a 2020 first round draft pick, and he got into six games before the season ended abruptly.

"They gave me a little bit of life in Anaheim," said Backes, who has played 16 NHL seasons with St. Louis, Boston and now Anaheim. "I'm just taking it all as a blessing. I've gotten perspective that I don't think many guys get while they're still playing.
"What was there for me was taken away and I kind of felt a little mourning, but I got to appreciate that. Next time I get on the ice, every shift is truly a gift to go out there and put an NHL jersey on and play every night."
Last night's game in LA was his third this season and undoubtedly his best, as he peppered the Kings net with a team-high eight shots on goal and won 12 of 19 faceoffs. More than that, he's providing the enthusiasm and grit expected of an NHL veteran.
"He's brought a lot of positivity to our bench, a lot of leadership, and he's played hard," Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. "We've been talking a lot with our team about winning puck battles and being hard to play against and he's done that, and we thought it was important to reward that.
"And he played a very, very good game. He was hot in the faceoff circle. Had a critical goal for us, and with his experience, it's amazing on that bench. It's almost like a secondary coach. He just knows the game so well. He's helping all of our players."
For the Ducks to succeed and to score much-needed goals, much of the onus will be on young forwards like Troy Terry, Sam Steel and Max Jones - not to mention any other prospects who make their way to Anaheim this season. Grizzled vets like Backes will likely be looked to for guidance, and Backes is willing to play that role.

"To accelerate their learning curve to be better, sooner, to not have some of the hard lessons I've had, I feel like that's my responsibility as well," he said last night.
And his primary advice to the Ducks youngsters? "Enjoy it, don't have any regrets, leave it all out there and, you know what, enjoy the wins," he said. "I hate to say this, but enjoy the losses and the struggles, and when you get through them, what kind of growth that it makes on your team. That's kind of the mindset I'm trying to bring in the locker room."
Soaking up every moment is an approach Backes says he wishes he had taken when he was younger, and it's being reinforced as he's reached this point in his career.
"I recently had that taken away from me, and now I've gotten a second life," he said, "I'm going to do everything I can to make the most of it and to show these guys in Anaheim that they made a good bet on what I still had left in the tank."