BRIGHTON — It’s a story that the media often looks forward to discussing: a player facing his former team for the first time.

At TD Garden tonight, David Backes will have the honors of facing the St. Louis Blues for the first time since he signed with the Bruins during the off-season.

“I have a lot of mixed emotions. [I’m] going to see a lot of familiar faces and I met a couple [of former teammates] for dinner last night,” Backes said after Tuesday’s morning skate at Warrior Ice Arena. “I just want to stay in the moment and do what I can to help this team win, and afterwards we can shake hands and give each other hugs and wish them the best moving forward.”

Eighteen games into the Bruins’ 2016-17 season, Backes is fitting in nicely to his new home. Aside from adjusting to a new team and a new city, the former Blues captain is bringing the same energy and leadership he displayed during his 10 years in St. Louis.

Without the ‘C’ or even an ‘A’ on his chest, Backes leadership and energy on and off the ice are qualities that are both appreciated within the organization.

“There’s a reason why he was the captain and an assistant captain previous to that [in St. Louis],” defenseman Adam McQuaid said. “He’s a leader on and off the ice and he brings that to our group and he leads by example.”

“I think there’s a lot in his personality that makes him a natural leader,” head coach Claude Julien added about Backes.

“He’s been a great addition to our room. We had lost some guys like Chris Kelly who was a good [leader] in his own right, Shawn Thornton is another guy; so you always look for people who are able to do both [lead on and off the ice] and off the ice I think he’s been a great addition and at the same time, he’s been good on the ice as far as making his linemates and others accountable. I like his presence on and off the ice, so he’s been a good addition to our hockey club.”

Knowing that this is not the first or last time the Bruins will have a teammate do battle with a place he used to call home, Brad Marchand and company want to help Backes any way they can. The best way to do that is with a victory against a Blues squad that comes into Causeway Street riding a three-game winning streak.

“We’ve had a lot of guys in that situation and you know it can be a little different for them. The biggest thing we can do is have a big game for him to play well and try to make it easier on him,” Marchand said about Backes. “We know what we’re getting from him every night. He battles so hard and he’s such a great asset to the team. We’re very fortunate that he picked us to come to and he’s now part of our group.”

On a day full of mixed emotions for Backes, it’s all business for the 11th-year pro come puck drop.

“A lot of good people over there and a lot of good friends, but we’re wearing different jersey’s tonight and so we’re well aware and I think they’re well aware there’s going to be no punches pulled and we’re going after two points,” said Backes, who has seven points (three goals, four assists) in 13 games played with the Black and Gold. “Both teams are playing pretty well and it’s going to be a battle of wills on who gets the two points out of the game.”