backesseabrook

The Chicago Blackhawks blew out the St. Louis Blues 5-1 on Sunday afternoon, wrapping up their tight quarterfinals series after six games and advancing to face either the Colorado Avalanche or Minnesota wild in the conference semi-finals.

Arguably the most talked about moment of the Blackhawks-Blues first round battle was the illegal hit that Brent Seabrook laid on David Backes in Game 2. The hit from behind left Backes injured (he missed two games) and earned Seabrook a three-game suspension from the league as a result.

As is tradition in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the two teams met at center ice for handshakes following the conclusion of their series on Sunday. All eyes on were on Seabrook and Backes as they shook hands in what appeared to be a very polite exchange. I’m no expert lip-reader or body language interpreter but it looks like Seabrook apologized to Backes, who had no problem accepting the sentiment.

I’m hoping one of them was mic’d up so we can eventually eavesdrop into what was said, but it’s good to see that both guys have put the ugly incident behind them with no long-lasting repercussions.