ST. LOUIS – Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy and veteran forward David Backes recently held a one-on-one meeting away from the rink to sort out any differences or concerns.

In the last 14 games, Backes, who earns $6 million per season, has been a healthy scratch four times. The sit-down wasn’t a “bitch session,” Backes said, and it was productive.

“I don’t want to get into specifics just because it was a man-to-man conversation and it was one-on-one for a reason,” Backes said. “I don’t want to boil it down, but we didn’t hold any punches and got to say what was on our mind. I think it was really good for both of us.”

Prior to the road trip, Cassidy was getting a sense that Backes’ season wasn’t going as well as he would like, so the coach asked the veteran if he would be open to getting together on the road to discuss some things.

“Either have a cup of coffee or a beer, just something away from the rink where we can just talk as people and kind of go through where we thought he was at,” explained Cassidy.

It wasn’t a discussion about X’s and O’s; it was more about Backes’ health and the effects of becoming an older player in the NHL. In 49 games this season, Backes, 34, has five goals and nine assists for 14 points, including a minus-4 rating.

“It was long overdue,” Backes said of the sit-down. “It was, ‘Hey, we’ve both done this long enough, so let’s go sit down and have an adult beverage, clear the air and put our thoughts on the table and maybe we’re in a better spot and better for it afterwards.’ I give him tons of credit for doing that, and it helped me clear my mind and get some stuff off my chest. He was able to clarify some stuff for me.”

Backes responded with what he called a “free game” against the Golden Knights and then provided the game-winning goal in the shootout in a 3-2 victory in Las Vegas. He said he felt like he had an extra step on everybody during that game. His reactions and decision-making were better all-around at both ends of the ice.

During his postgame interview with the Bruins’ radio play-by-play announcer Judd Sirott, Backes first mentioned the meeting with Cassidy.

After the team’s practice on Friday in preparation for Saturday’s game against the Blues, Backes said he’s only felt as good as he did on Wednesday in spurts this season, but he wants to keep his current frame of mind intact moving forward. It helps that the Bruins acquired veteran center Charlie Coyle and that he will center Backes. Coyle’s size and presence should allow Backes more time and space to do his job better and more consistently.

During his career in St. Louis, where he was the captain of the Blues, Backes would speak every day with then-coach Ken Hitchcock. In Boston, Backes is a respected veteran and an alternate captain, but not a longtime part of the leadership structure like captain Zdeno Chara or fellow alternate captain Patrice Bergeron. He hasn’t had that level of communication with Cassidy.

“The difference variability from being a captain on a team, and I don’t know if that was Hitch’s style, but I met with Hitch every day,” Backes said. “Even after I met with him, I’d be at dinner with my family and he would be sending me a text message. Maybe it’s overcommunication at some point, but I never guessed where I stood, or what was expected of me.

“It’s not a knock on (Cassidy) — he’s got big fish to fry — but (the sit-down) is somewhat of him respecting that I’ve played 12 or 13 years, but I still crave that feedback and knowledge of what he thinks I could be better, or if he’s appreciative of what I’m bringing to the table. Players, in general, crave that. And when I’ve gotten that, all of a sudden you see the result. We agreed that communication line can get a little better and we’ll continue to do that to hopefully get similar results.”

Cassidy acknowledged that he’s done something similar with veteran players in the past and the coach feels it’s a better scenario than sitting across a desk.

“Sometimes those conversations just evolve easier when you’re equals,” Cassidy said. “We got a good result (Wednesday in Vegas). You just hope you come out of it with both the player and the coach are in a better place. The worst that can come out of it is you hope at least you’ve opened a door of communication in a different way and hopefully the player respects you for trying to do that.”

It worked.

(Photo of Backes: Stephen R. Sylvanie / USA TODAY Sports)