[Dion]

Hartley comments on Backlund

Mikael Backlund, after being scratched Wednesday, returned Friday as the fourth-line centre.

In little more than eight minutes of ice time, he was plus-one, with a takeaway. He won four of his seven faceoffs.

“The minutes I gave him, it’s pretty unfair for me to judge Backs’ game,” said Hartley.'

“You see him work. I have lots of time for Backs. It’s a matter of keep working hard, keeping a positive attitude, which he has. He’ll be fine.”

The coach added that newcomers Sean Monahan, 19, and Joe Colborne, 23, are cutting into Backlund’s workload.

“It’s part of the battle,” said Hartley. “That’s what I told him, ‘Monahan and Colborne came in and kind of stole some of your ice time.’ That’s the competitive nature of this business. I told him, ‘You have to fight back. You have to push back.’ That’s his challenge.”

http://blogs.calgaryherald.com/2013/...-joins-flames/