CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks felt the repercussions of Brent Seabrooks hit on David Backes again on Sunday. How it affects the rest of their playoff series against the St. Louis Blues remains to be seen. Seabrook was suspended for three games by the NHL on his 29th birthday for his elbow to Backes head late in the third period of St. Louis 4-3 overtime win in Game 2. Now Chicago has to dig out of a 2-0 hole without one of its best defencemen in a rocky start to its Stanley Cup title defence. "You need his size, you need his presence and experience and his leadership," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said before Seabrooks suspension was announced. "Hes got the big shot on the point and hes on our power play as well. He kills penalties, so he plays all important minutes." Seabrook received a five-minute major and game misconduct penalty after he wiped out Backes at 15:09 of the third, and the Blues used the resulting power play to score the tying goal with 6.4 seconds left in regulation on Vladimir Tarasenkos long wrist shot. Backes had to be helped off the ice and did not return. The captains status for Monday nights Game 3 is up in the air. "All I know is hes upright, and thats about it right now," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said Sunday. "We dont have any further information and probably wont have until late tomorrow." Backes and Seabrook were not made available to the media on the day off, but much of the talk centred on the hit anyway. The TV broadcast picked up someone taunting Backes in the aftermath of the big blow, but it was unclear if it was coming from the ice or the crowd in the corner where the play occurred. "I saw them talking to him. It makes it a little more gutless," Blues forward Ryan Reaves said. "I dont think theres any need for that. He doesnt even know where he really is. I think if they want to start getting into that battle, we can play the same way. Well see where it takes us." Quenneville said he did not see or hear any players taunting Backes after he went down. In addition to the hit by Seabrook, Hitchcock also was upset by Bryan Bickells knee-on-knee collision with Blues centre Vladimir Sobotka in the third. He said the Blackhawks forward was involved in a similar play with defenceman Alex Pietrangelo in the first. "That part bothers me more than the hit on David, a hit that went array," Hitchcock said. "The hit on Sobotka was a continuation of what happened to Petro in the first period." Here are five things to watch in Game 3 of this increasingly testy series: HOME SWEET HOME: The Blackhawks went 11-2 at home in the playoffs last year, outscoring the Wild, Red Wings, Kings and Bruins by a combined score of 41-23. They went 27-7-7 at the United Center this season, including a 2-0-1 mark against the Blues. "You just feed off of it," Quenneville said. "Itll be exciting to get back here, get some of the positive vibes off it and look to turn this thing around." VLADIMIR THE GREAT: Tarasenko missed the last 15 games of the regular season with a broken right thumb. But the 22-year-old Russian forward caused all sorts of headaches for the Blackhawks in the first two games of the series. The speedy Tarasenko had a first-period goal in the playoff opener, and then had the tying power-play score in Saturdays victory. With Seabrook out for the next three games and Backes status in question, Tarasenko could take on a more prominent role for the rest of the series. SO MANY PENALTIES: The Blues and Blackhawks combined for 17 penalties and 61 penalty minutes in Game 2. The defending Stanley Cup champions were responsible for 11 of those penalties and 41 penalty minutes, both season highs. It looked as if the Blackhawks wanted to match the physicality of the Blues, and it took them out of their puck possession game at times. "I think a little bit we might have played into their hands, but weve got to get back to our hockey, because when were playing that way we do a good job and thats how we win," Chicago forward Brandon Saad said. BEEN HERE BEFORE: St. Louis began last years playoffs with a pair of 2-1 victories over Los Angeles at home, including an overtime win in the opener. The Blues then lost the next four games against the Kings. "We played the best game all year Game 3 in Los Angeles and lost," Hitchcock said. "This is going to be a very long series and were going to have to be better than weve been if we expect to win a game in Chicago." ABOUT THOSE GOALTENDERS: Blues goalie Ryan Miller has been solid since Chicagos three-goal first period in Game 1. He had 25 saves in Saturdays win, and all three of the Blackhawks goals came with traffic in front of the net. Corey Crawford made 48 saves for Chicago in the triple-overtime opener, but he was disappointed with his 27-save performance in Game 2. "He said he needs to be better, and he needs to be better," Quenneville said. ___ AP Sports Writer R.B. Fallstrom in St. Louis contributed to this report. ___ Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Jayson Williams Jersey . Dr. James Andrews is to operate next week on the 24-year-old pitcher, who made the AL All-Star team last year. Moore will be the first Rays pitcher to undergo Tommy John surgery since Jason Isringhausen in June 2009. Jason Kidd Jersey . Only it wasnt the extended right pad of his old teammate Jonathan Bernier early in the final frame, it was James Reimer, who stole a night that was supposed to belong to the former King. https://www.cheapnetsonline.com/1245g-taurean-prince-jersey-nets.html . The Canadian tennis players first full season on the WTA Tour was a strong one. 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Jon Montgomery, the gold-medal winning skeleton racer who celebrated his victory by chugging from a pitcher of beer handed to him by a fan, says his failed attempt to qualify for the Sochi Games will in all likelihood mark the end of his sliding career. "Im done. As a competitive athlete, this is the end of the road for me," Montgomery said in a telephone interview with The Canadian Press on Thursday, before later adding: "I would say 99 per cent of me is certain that I am done. "You wont see me (racing) next year or the year after and Im 99 per cent sure you wont see me trying to gain a spot for (the 2018 Winter Olympics in) Pyeongchang." The 34-year-old Montgomery was one of the stars of the Vancouver Games, memorably drinking from that pitcher on national television as he walked through a crowd of rabid Canadian fans in Whistler, B.C. But the Russell, Man., native struggled to find consistency on a new sled in the leadup to Sochi and missed out on a chance to defend his title in Russia. "Physically Im at the top of my game. Im going out faster than Ive ever been in my career but its a bit of a sacrifice to make sure that I dont get hurt," he said. "I dont know what sort of long-term damage Ive done to my brain but in terms of getting a concussion — which is a really distinct possibility, or a brain injury — I need to make the right choices based on my family." Montgomery said even had he made it to Sochi and topped the podium a second time, the emotions from Vancouver would have been difficult to repeat. "Nothing can ever replace your first Olympic gold medal," he said. "To have done that on home soil with friends and family and countrymen by my side ... you just cant top that." Although he wanted desperately to represent Canada again, Montgomery said hes been watching these Games intently. "Its the human drama that takes place in front of us every day during the Olympics," he said. "Its unbelievable. I enjoyed being part of it as an athlete and (enjoy) being part of it as a fan." Montgomery took the 2011-12 season off and found it difficult racing on the new sled he helped build from scratch when he returned to the track. He had used his previous sled for eight years, but felt it was necessary to go with new technology in order to defend his Olympic gold in Sochi. In the end, he never got that chance. "It was really frustrating because you had achieved a certain level of performance that you were used to being able to get back to week in and week out," said Montgomery. "Coonsistency is a huge part in our sport.dddddddddddd You have to be very athletic to push the sled, but its more of a game of skill and touch. "Its about that feel and that muscle memory, that finite muscle control, and thats what I was struggling with — to get that feel and that touch back to my sliding game." Montgomerys path to Sochi was always going to be difficult after he failed to earn one of the three mens spots on Canadas World Cup team. He instead raced on a lower circuit where point values for results are lower, but was promoted to the World Cup team in January. He needed at least a fourth-place finish in his final race to get a third Canadian sled into the Olympics, but wound up a heart-breaking seventh. That disappointment aside, Montgomery is adamant he did everything possible to give himself the best chance at success. "I can say until the day I die that there wasnt anything that we didnt address," he said. "I built a gym in my home garage with equipment that I felt was necessary for me to get quicker, bigger, faster, stronger and that paid off. "With the equipment development end of things, unfortunately we didnt realize the goals that we had set for ourselves — we fell a little bit short. "It was mostly timing. An opportunity to get comfortable with the equipment that wed built was really where we fell short. But as far as making the choices and decisions we made, zero regrets." Montgomery became somewhat of a folk hero after the 2010 Games and was in Calgary on Thursday to promote Proctor & Gambles "Thank You, Mom" campaign for the 2014 Olympics. He and his mother, Joan, starred in a video highlighting how she helped him through some tough times early in his career prior to the Olympic gold medal. She played a similar role again when her son failed to qualify for Sochi. "My mom was there to help me pick myself up and move on with some purpose and dedication towards what happens next in life," said Montgomery, who hosted the first season of CTVs "Amazing Race Canada" last year and has signed on again for a second instalment that begins shooting in the spring. That television career will keep Montgomery in the public eye, but he will likely always be known as the Canadian Olympic champion who chugged beer with a gold medal around his neck. "Lots of great memories, lots of good friends and a lot of pride in what we were able to accomplish for ourselves as individuals and for us as a country," he said. "I havent given a formal (retirement) announcement. "I havent gone to a press conference and cried like Wayne Gretzky yet, but if that day comes Ill probably do that too." ' ' '