Chicago Will Run On Duncan Once Again
Duncan Keith will return to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night, on the road against the St. Louis Blues. The Blackhawks have gone 5-4-1 without Keith, but they have only won two of their last seven games. Needless to say, having the 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy Winner back in the lineup is perhaps exactly what the team needs. They will play back-to-back games this weekend, before embarking upon a six-game road trip that will not bring them back to the United Center until December 1st.
As reported here on The AOSN, this is the first day that Keith is eligible to rejoin the team after being placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) on October 20th, after requiring surgery for a torn meniscus. Keith did participate in the morning skate, and he met with the press shortly afterwards.
“I’m excited to get back.” He said. “I just feel like I’m just going to go play and focus on the things I normally focus on. A lot of that is skating, and having a good gap, and trying to be good defensively, and get the puck to our forwards.”
He makes it sound so easy.
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Plot Lines
According to head coach Joel Quenneville, there was no devious ploy to ensure Keith would be in tonight’s game against one of their top divisional rivals in St. Louis. Even after the heart-wrenching overtime loss on November 4th.
Quenneville revealed, “I think no matter who we play, there’s no easy games. And everybody plays hard, and we want our team to play hard. It’s either today or tomorrow, so let’s go.”
It appears to be a straight plan, Keith is slated to return on this date, and he has been medically cleared, so he will play.
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However, it may be safe to say that Keith is on a day-to-day basis. Although he will be playing in Saturday’s game, it is uncertain if he will play in Sunday night’s game against the Calgary Flames.
According to Quenneville, “We’ll see tonight, but if everything’s good. Good chance.”
Obviously, Keith playing on a back-to-back so quickly is worthy of some consideration, and there will be a decision to be made after tonight’s game. Outside of re-injury, Keith is a tough player and will most likely remain in the lineup. For a guy that has rarely been out of the line up for any length of time, Keith appeared to be pretty loose after the team’s morning skate.