On Nov. 2, the Boston Bruins met the Ottawa Senators for the first time this season at TD Garden.
This game will probably stay in memory for a long time because of a Sabourin-Backes incident. In the first period, David Backes hit Scott Sabourin as the Senators’ forward fell on the ice without much awareness.
Following a 10-minute silence and fear, Sabourin has been stretchered off the ice as Backes remained watching the situation with the sorrow and tears in his eyes. After Sabourin went to the hospital and the game could continue, Backes went directly to the tunnel, and he never returned to the contest.
Backes was forced to miss nearly a month with a concussion. His health status was a matter for the 35-year-old veteran, and his doctors, he even considered retirement as he later confessed. Now, Backes has been healthy and playing for a few games. Sabourin nears the return in a piece of good news for all the Senators organization.
It was considerably evident that Backes’ despair following a scary collision at TD Garden related more to his opponent than to himself. Backes reached out to Sabourin after that moment. It meant a world for Ottawa’s forward, as he revealed on Monday.
“Backes reached out to me originally and you know he said some kind words about me in an interview there. But since then I have not spoken to him, no. That was awfully nice of him, it shows what kind of character he has and what kind of person he is. It’s kind of nice to see that the whole hockey world is in it together for the same thing at the end of the day,” Sabourin said.
Sabourin suffered a broken nose and a concussion for the first time in his career. For him, the aid from his teammates, family, and Backes, ultimately, helped him to remain positive and determined to come back and play hockey again.
