April 01--Some of the characteristics that make Duncan Keith a two-time Norris Trophy winner and three-time Stanley Cup champion are the passion and emotion with which the Blackhawks defenseman plays the game.
That playing-on-an-edge mentality has also meant taking the bad with the good and Keith's latest outburst after being dumped to the ice by the Wild's Charlie Coyle on Tuesday night could impact the Hawks' bid to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.
The NHL's Department of Player Safety suspended Keith indefinitely after he swung his stick striking Coyle in the face and has offered the veteran an in-person hearing in New York, meaning any suspension could be longer than five games and result in Keith missing a portion of the playoffs. An announcement on when a hearing will be held was expected Thursday but the league was still working with the Hawks on logistics, according to a source.
"Every player is different (with) their roles, their expectations, (and) the way they play that makes them successful and what drives them," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said following Thursday's practice at Johnny's IceHouse West. "I think the way (Keith) is, his competitiveness is part of what makes him a great player. I just think that being smart and knowing the limit is what we have to deal with."
Keith was neither smart nor apparently knew the limit when he swung his stick and as for how long the Hawks will have to deal without Keith in the lineup remains to be determined. Tuesday's incident marked the third time in his career that Keith reacted with short fuse after a run-in with an opponent. He threw an elbow to the face of Daniel Sedin in 2012 after the Canucks winger appeared to elbow Keith along the boards and Keith drew a five-game suspension, he high-sticked the Kings' Jeff Carter during the 2013 playoffs after Carter slashed Keith's bare hand while the blue liner was picking up a lost glove to earn a one-game suspension and then Tuesday's incident.
Keith also exploded emotionally and pummeled then-teammate Ben Smith during training camp prior to the 2013 season, though afterward neither player would reveal the reason for the altercation.
"As players we always talk about discipline as a team," Quenneville said Thursday. "We feel we're pretty strong in that area. We deal with it the right way and we feel going forward we have to be smart about how we play on the ice, how we react to different situations and we don't hurt the team."
With Keith expected to be out of the lineup for at least the final five regular-season games, the Hawks prepared to move forward without him. During Thursday's practice, the defensive pairings were Trevor van Riemsdyk with Niklas Hjlamarsson, Viktor Svedberg skated with Brent Seabrook and Erik Gustafsson was paired with Michal Rozsival.
"We've got seven D that are ready to play," Quenneville said. "We've been moving some guys in and out recently on the back end and pairs have been changing in games. So it will be a good chance for some guys to get more ice time and more quality."
Rozsival and van Riemsdyk in particular should see their minutes increase during Keith's absence.
"Obviously it will be a big loss," Rozsival said. (Keith) is a guy that plays lots of minutes for us in all situations. Somebody else has to step in and play those minutes. It's some big shoes to fill, but hopefully we'll be able to do that.
"As a hockey player, you always want to play," Rozsival added. "I always felt the more minutes I play, the better I feel. Maybe I'll get more minutes on the ice this time around when 'Duncs' is out."
Said van Riemsdyk: "We're just ready for whatever and ... it will be a group of us kind of stepping up -- it won't be just one guy filling in for Duncan. He does too many special things and he's too great of a player for one guy to come in and fill his void. However long or short it may be, we'll be ready to go."
Keith declined to speak with reporters Thursday.
One-timers: Winger Marian Hossa is ill and will not make the trip to Winnipeg when the Hawks face the Jets on Friday night. ... Goaltender Corey Crawford also missed Thursday's practice as the veteran continues to recover from an upper-body injury. Quenneville said Crawford "has really progressed well here. We expect him on the ice this weekend and go from there. Good progress here the last day or so and that was encouraging." ... Scott Darling will make his eighth consecutive start in goal. ... Both Brent Seabrook (illness) and Artem Anisimov (lower body) practice and are scheduled to face the Jets.
