Tag Archives: Duncan Keith

Kane, Keith continue to pace Blackhawks

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dt.common.streams.StreamServerPatrick Kane and Duncan Keith are each having arguably their best seasons to date as NHL players, and that’s saying something. Patrick Kane won the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie back in the 2007-2008 season, and Duncan Keith won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 2010. Yet both players are currently performing at higher levels than we’ve ever seen. Kane is in the thick of the Hart Trophy race (league MVP), and Keith is considered by all hockey analysts as the leading candidate to win the Norris Trophy, again.

Patrick Kane, who’s best career numbers came in the ’09-’10 season (30G, 58A), already has 20 goals and 26 assists this season, putting him second in the NHL in points only Anaheim Ducks v Chicago Blackhawksbehind Sidney Crosby. Kane previously had a career best 12-game point streak earlier this year, and he is currently riding another 10-game point streak. How many guys in the NHL can say they’ve even had ONE 10-game point streak in their career? Kane continues to come up with goal after goal, assist after assist, and he’s been a major reason as to why the Blackhawks’ powerplay is so good this year.

Duncan Keith also had his best season during the ’09-’10 campaign when he put up 14 goals and 55 assists, and won the Norris Trophy. This season, he has 3 goals to go along Anaheim Ducks v Chicago Blackhawkswith 29 assists. His 29 assists put him just 3 away from the league lead, and he’s a defenseman. Aside from his offensive number, Keith is without a doubt playing his best defensive hockey of his career. You would be hard pressed to find a night this season when Keith hasn’t been the best d-man on the ice during a Blackhawks game. His ability to read the opposition’s offense and get in the way of the passing lanes is almost surreal. He has one of the best, most active sticks I’ve seen and always finds a way to come up with a nice poke check or deflection to break of the opponent’s offensive rush. Keith is also a part of the Hawks’ number one powerplay unit where he has been a huge contributor this year. His awareness when it comes to knowing when to shoot and when to pass with the man advantage is as good as it gets.

Both Kane and Keith are due to go through a rough patch at some point this season, but I wouldn’t expect them to be long ones. These guys are two of the best players at their respective positions in the world. Right now, they are playing at the highest level they have ever played, and they have been a HUGE reason for the Blackhawks’ success up to this point. If both players continue to play at this elite level, I’d expect at least one of them to walk away with an award at the end of the season. Right now, I’d give the edge to Duncan Keith over Patrick Kane in that regard, but I wouldn’t put it past Kane to win the league’s MVP.

Blackhawks back on top

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184164326_slideThe Blackhawks closed out their annual 7-game “circus trip” by reeling off six straight victories to vault themselves back to the top of the NHL standings. Their lone loss on the trip came in their first game in Colorado. While winning six straight games is impressive on its own, winning six straight games on the road, all against Western Conference teams is even more impressive. To put into perspective how good the West is this year, the East-leading Bruins would be tied for fifth in the West. The current last place wild card team in the West, Phoenix (34 points), has more points than four Eastern Conference teams who are currently in a playoff spot. Many people believed that this road trip would say a lot about the Blackhawks and the type of team that they are this season. Well, now that the road trip is over with, I think it’s safe to say we know what type of team we’re dealing with here.

Not many teams can do what the Blackhawks just did. After losing badly in Colorado to start the 7-game road trip, the Hawks beat Winnipeg, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Dallas, and Phoenix in that order. Three of those victories were third period comeback wins in which the Hawks entered the third trailing in the game. Yet they still found a way to come out on top each time.

Some NHL analysts are beginning to say that the Blackhawks may be better than they were last season. I’m not sure that I agree or disagree with that belief, but I can see where 1306350614they are coming from. Virtually everyone on the team now has a Stanley Cup ring, with the exception of Brandon Pirri and Antti Raanta. The addition of Kris Versteeg just a few weeks back improved the depth of the Blackhawks in a strong way. Duncan Keith is playing better right now than he ever has in his career, including 2010 when he won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman. Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya continue to get better, and Hjalmarsson is becoming one of the top defensive defensemen in the game. The fourth line, while it may not be as skilled as it was a year ago, is beginning to develop some great chemistry and was arguably the team’s best line (given their level of talent) over the last 4 games of the road trip. Also, keep in mind that Bryan Bickell missed the last six games due to injury and won’t return yet for a few weeks. His presence back in the lineup will only help the Hawks.

The Blackhawks, who spent practically every second of last season leading the league in points, are back in that same position. They currently sit atop the NHL in points with 44, three ahead of the San Jose Sharks who have played two fewer games than the Hawks. In fact, the Blackhawks are actually on the same pace as they were last season in terms of points had they played the full 82 games. December will be a very telling month for the Blackhawks as this may very well be the toughest stretch of their schedule. They have to play Dallas twice, L.A. twice, and Minnesota, Anaheim, Philadelphia, Toronto, Vancouver, Colorado, and St. Louis once. I left out a couple games, but the ones just mentioned are the most notable games of the month. If the Hawks can come out of December still sitting in one of the top two spots in the West, that will be quite the statement.

Looking ahead, I see no reason why the Blackhawks can’t finish first in the NHL and win the President’s Trophy again. This is the best team in hockey, and they are, believe it or not, more motivated than ever to win the Stanley Cup. They know what’s at stake if they can win the Cup in consecutive seasons, and they will do everything they can to make that happen.

I like what Corey Crawford said in an interview just a few days back. He was asked by Bob Verdi (Blackhawks historian), “Do you like the idea that, after earning two Stanley Cups in four years, the Blackhawks have a target on their backs?” His answer? “I like the fact that when we are champions, other teams bring their game up and try to beat us. That makes us better.” That’s the right mindset to have.

 

Late-game magic in Calgary for the Blackhawks

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184164326_slideOne of the best, most improbable victories for the Blackhawks during last season’s epic 24-game point streak to start the season took place in Calgary. Ray Emery single handedly won that game for the Hawks, a game in which they had no business winning. The Flames badly outplayed the Blackhawks from start to almost the finish, but ended up allowing Marian Hossa to tie the game with under 5 seconds remaining in the third. The Blackhawks would end up winning in a shootout. Last night, the Hawks pulled off another improbable victory at the expense of the Flames in Calgary.

Unlike last season’s miracle win in northern Alberta, last night’s game was much more evenly contested. The Hawks did not play bad by any means, but they weren’t at their best either. The Flames on the other hand, they did play a very good game by their standards. They held a 1-0 lead entering the third period, and would score again just a few minutes into the third to take a 2-0 advantage. It looked as though this would be a disappointing loss for the Hawks once they went down by 2.

Then with almost 10 minutes gone in the period, Patrick Kane took a bad angled shot from Flames goalie Reto Berra’s right that deflected off a Calgary stick and went into the net. This brought the Hawks to within one and gave them some momentum, something they hadn’t really had all night.

Not even a minute later, Patrick Sharp tied the game on a redirect after a beautiful backhand pass from Hossa through the slot. Just like that, the game was tied and the Flames and their fans were almost in shock.

From that point on, the ice really seemed to open up and the pace of the game took off.

1306350614Following a Calgary icing with about 25 seconds left, Andrew Shaw won the offensive zone draw to Berra’s left. The puck found its way back to Niklas Hjalmarsson who fired a shot toward the net that got blocked. The puck then bounced right to Patrick Kane who spun to his left and fired home a nice backhander that beat Berra with 18 seconds left in the game. Once again, the Hawks had pulled off a semi-miracle on the Flames home ice. The final 18 seconds ran off the clock after the ensuing faceoff, and the Hawks won the game 3-2.

I guess there’s just something about Calgary that makes the Blackhawks do incredible things late in games.

So, here’s what I saw last night:

  • Antti Raanta made his first career start and earned his first career victory while making 20 saves. He played a solid game and came up with some big stops at key moments to keep the game close. This was a great sign for the Hawks that he played well. Hopefully that continues moving forward. 
  • Kris Versteeg was all over the ice last night. He had a number of quality scoring chances, but couldn’t find the back of the net. His versatility has really shown since coming back to the Hawks a couple weeks ago. Quenneville hasn’t hesitated to move Versteeg from the third line, to the second line, and vise versa. His goals will come with time.
  • Duncan Keith is playing out of his mind right now. He is definitely deserving of all the Norris Trophy talk he is receiving.
  • Patrick Kane now has a point in 12 straight games, making this the longest such streak of his career. He appears to have the “I’ll do whatever I want, when I want” attitude right now, which is a bad thing for the rest of the league.

The Hawks have now won 4 straight games on this road trip after losing the first game in Colorado. They also now lead the NHL in points with 40, although they’ve played a couple more games than teams like St. Louis who are right behind them in the standings. The Hawks will finish this 7-game trip with games in Dallas and Phoenix on Friday and Saturday night, respectively.

I really like how the Blackhawks are playing right now, even without Bryan Bickell in the mike-madduxlineup. When he comes back, I’d personally like to see him bump either Handzus or Bollig out of the lineup. Handzus will not play every game because of his health and age, but theoretically Bollig could. My problem with Bollig is that he doesn’t really do a whole lot that warrants him being in the lineup every game like he currently is. You can’t tell me that there are no better hockey players in Rockford than Bollig who could be playing on the Hawks’ fourth line. When Bickell comes back, I’d be fine if Bollig and Handzus platooned that last spot on the fourth line, but I don’t want to see Bollig continue to play every night. He’s just not that good.

That’s all for now.

Blackhawks’ Keith Gets 5 Game Suspension

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NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety, Brendan Shanahan, announced this afternoon that Duncan Keith has been suspended for the next 5 games for his elbow to the head on Daniel Sedin. The incident occurred during the first period of Wednesday night’s match-up between the Hawks and Canucks at the United Center in Chicago.

To me, 5 games seems a bit harsh, and I’m not just saying that because I am a Blackhawks fan. After going back and looking at some of the previous incidents that resulted in suspensions of less than 5 games this year, this one seems a bit drastic. Yes, Keith definitely deserved a suspension. There is no doubt about that. I, however, thought that it should have been more along the lines of a 3-game suspension. Here is my reason why:

This past Tuesday night in Dallas, Shane Doan of the Phoenix Coyotes delivered an elbow to the head of Jamie Benn. As the replay shows, Doan clearly intentionally stuck out his elbow to try and make contact with Benn (Video: Doan’s hit on Benn). Only about a week before that, Doan was fined by the NHL for a boarding penalty that he took. For the elbow to the head on Benn, Doan only received a 3-game suspension, even though he is a “repeat offender.” Granted, Jamie Benn did not suffer any injury on the play.

If you watch the replay of Duncan Keith’s hit on Daniel Sedin and compare it to Doan’s hit on Jamie Benn, they are pretty similar incidents (Video: Keith’s hit on Sedin). Yes, Daniel Sedin now apparently has a concussion and Benn does not, but if you are going to give Doan just 3 games for what he did, Keith should have gotten 3 as well; 4 at the most. Also, this is Keith’s first offense, whereas Doan has a history with this stuff.

I dislike the fact that the NHL takes into consideration whether or not the victim was injured in plays like these. Regardless of the outcome of the hit, it’s still an illegal hit! Punish the guys who deliver the hits for the hit itself. Don’t add games onto the suspension if the victim ends up being hurt. I’m not saying that this is the case at all with Daniel Sedin, but what if he and the Canucks are “faking” his concussion? What if they want Sedin to look injured just so that Keith misses a few extra games via his suspension? Again, I am in no way implying that this is what the Canucks are doing, but it is possible that some team could do that in the future. Because of that possibility in and of itself, I don’t think injuries should be taken into consideration when deciding how many games to suspend someone.

I will say again that I totally agree with suspending Duncan Keith, but I think that 5 games is a bit much. Now the Blackhawks are without their best forward, Jonathan Toews, and their best defenseman, Duncan Keith, for the most important stretch of the season. There is still no word on when Toews might return.

Thanks for reading.