Posts Tagged ‘Duncan Keith’

Eight fantasy relevant Blackhawks, plus sleepers

October 1st, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Fantasy drafts are well underway, and the Blackhawks have eight players that should find their way on to a team in every possible format. For the purpose of this article we’ll stick with the standard 6 x 4 category league. Goals, assists, plus/minus, penalty-minutes power play points and shots on goal for skaters, and wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts for goalies.

Patrick Kane (RW) – He led the Blackhawks in scoring last year, and is poised to break the century mark in his fourth season. Kane has pin-point accuracy with his wrist shot, and could see 35-plus goals on Chicago’s top line. Not much of a scrapper, but he can produce in each category. Kane has the potential to be the best fantasy right winger this year. (2009-10: 30 G, 58 A, +16, 20 PIM, 29 PPP and 261 SOG)

Marian Hossa (RW) – Despite playing on the second line, Hossa can produce a point-per-game, had the potential to reach the 40-goal plateau again and rack up the shots on goal. He has dropped on many draft boards because he only played about two-thirds of the season (57 games) recovering from shoulder surgery. Hossa would be a steal if he fell to third round. (24 G, 27 A, +24, 18 PIM, 7 PPP and 199 SOG)

Jonathan Toews (C) – Notoriously a slow starter, the fantasy hockey world hopes Toews’ hot stick that propelled Team Canada to a gold medal and Blackhawks to the Stanley cup hasn‘t cooled. Two seasons ago he was snakebit, and last year he suffered from post-concussion symptoms. Despite playing at the deepest position, you’re going to want to grab him early. Expect big things from Captain Serious. (25 G, 43 A, +22, 47 PIM, 22 PPP and 202 SOG).

Duncan Keith (D) – He may not be the fantasy juggernaut that is Mike Green, but the reigning Norris Trophy winner will be a top point producer on defense. There isn’t much selling needed when it comes to Keith. He’s one of the hardest working players out of the ice each night, and he won’t have any trouble living up the lofty expectations. Keith it near or at the top in every category. (14 G, 55 A, +21, 55 PIM and 213 SOG)

Patrick Sharp (C,LW) – Playing on the Blackhawks’ second line with Hossa for a full season will add to this already solid fantasy value. As will the duel position eligibility at center and left wing. Sharp will help owners across the boards, minus the penalty minutes. The pretty boy doesn’t like to get his hands dirty. (25 G, 41 A, +24, 28 PIM, 16 PPP and 266 SOG)

Marty Turco (G) – Turco is no longer the elite fantasy goalie he once was at the ripe age of 35, and is far from worthy of being drafted anywhere in the first five rounds. He’ll be productive for the Blackhawks because of their puck control style of play. Turco will be a great No. 2 goaltender on any fantasy roster, and should start anywhere between 55 to 65 games. (22 W, 2.72 GAA, .913 SV% and 4 SO)

Brian Campbell (D) – 2009-10 was a bit of a down season for the puck moving defenseman. Owners can normally rely on Campbell for 50-plus points this year. He was forced to miss a handful of games down the stretch because of a broken collarbone. Campbell will be the quarterback of the first power-play unit, and see around 20 minutes a night per usual. (7 G, 31 A, +18, 18 PIM, 11 PPP and 131 SOG)

Brent Seabrook (D) – Much of what Seabrook does on the ice doesn’t translate to the fantasy game, and he will never the sexiest fantasy defenseman. He’s still young, but with five full seasons in the league don’t expect a jump in offensive production. Seabrook will have a point total in the 30s, but his stellar plus/minus rating gives him value. He will also rack up a decent amount of penalty minutes and see time on the power-play unit. (6 G, 24 A, +20, 59 PIM, 6 PPP and 129 SOG)

The Sleepers –

Troy Brouwer (RW) – Brouwer will have the role of being the muscle somewhere within the top two lines in Chicago. Coach Quenneville will need him to battle in the corners and in front of the net each night. As a result his penalty minutes and goal totals should be on the rise this year. Brouwer could see time on the power-play as well. (22 G, 18 A, +8, 66 PIM, 13 PPP and 116 SOG)

Dave Bolland (C) – There might not be anyone on this roster with as much to prove as Bolland at 24-years-old. There are lofty expectations for the pivot, who signed a long-term deal with the Blackhawks last summer. Bolland is coming off a season where he missed 43 games due to back surgery, and showed signs of what could be. From all accounts, Bolland is going into the season healthy. Oh, and there is a chance he centers the second line with Hossa and Sharp. (6 G, 10 A, +5, 28 PIM, 2 PPP and 52 SOG)

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2010 Norris Trophy winner: Duncan Keith

June 23rd, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Duncan Keith with his James Norris Trophy

As expected, Duncan Keith won the 2010 James Norris Trophy for being this year’s top defenseman in the league. Since the trophy’s first appearance in 1954, three other Blackhawks have won the award. Past winners were Hall of Famer Pierre Pilote (1963, 1964 and 1965), Doug Wilson (1982) and Chris Chelios (1993 and 1996). It’s easy to say Keith is in good company.

Keith was at or near the top of every relevant statistical category for defensemen. Aside from taking a puck to the face in the San Jose series and losing seven teeth as a result, he’s had a great season. A Olympic gold medal, a Stanley Cup victory and the Norris Trophy. He was also voted to the First All-Star team with Patrick Kane.

Other Blackhawks getting award votes

- Jonathan Toews was fourth in the Selke voting with 408 points with 17 first place votes.

- Patrick Kane was seventh in the Hart Trophy voting, and was twelveth in the running for the Lady Bing.

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Sweep – Western Conference Finals series review

May 25th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Blackhawks celebrate Cup Finals birth (Getty Images/Jonathan Daniel)

I won’t go as far to say that being swept by the Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals was a choke-job, but the only Shark that showed up in the series was Patrick Marleau. In the four games that the conference finals last, Marleau scored five of San Jose’s seven goal goals and tallied an assist. Outside of defenseman Jordan Hendry, the Blackhawks won the series because it was a complete team effort.

The Blackhawks organization will go to their first Stanley Cup Finals since the 1991-92 season. Stay tuned for the finals preview in the next few days, but for now enjoy reliving the awesomeness that was the (1) Sharks vs. (2) Blackhawks series.

Game #1 – Blackhawks 2, Sharks 1 Defenseman Jason Demers gave the Sharks the early lead when his shot deflected off Duncan Keith’s body into the goal. Antti Niemi stayed cool, and didn’t let the unlucky goal faze him the rest of the afternoon. He didn’t allow another goal, saving forty-four shots allowing his team to steal this first game of the series. Dustin Byfuglien scored the game-winning goal.

Game #2 – Blackhawks 4, Sharks 2 The Blackhawks took both games at the Shark Tank to start the series, and have been great on the road this post-season. They are 7-1 away from the United Center. San Jose was never really in this game as the Blackhawks cruised to victory, and returned home with a 2-0 lead in the series.

Game #3 – Blackhawks 3, Sharks 2 (OT) This one nearly ended in regulation, but the Sharks were able to extend the game into overtime when Marleau netted his second goal of the evening. Jonathan Toews was the best player on the ice for either team. He had two assists, won 59.3% of his face-offs and set a Blackhawk post-season record for consecutive games with at least a point at twelve games. Dave Bolland was a close second for his breakaway goal in the third period, and feed to Byfuglien from behind the net for the game-winning, overtime goal.

Game #4 – Blackhawks 4, Sharks 2 It looked bleak for the Blackhawks when the Sharks extended their lead to 2-0 in the second period. Duncan Keith just had seven teeth knocked out, and Andrew Ladd was already in the locker room with an apparent injury. Like they proved in many games this season, the Blackhawks can’t be kept down. The Blackhawks scored an ugly goal that was eventually credited to Brent Seabrook, then Bolland beat Nabokov to even up the score, Byfuglien tallied his third game-winning goal of the series and Kris Versteeg clinched the trip to the Stanly Cup Finals with an empty-netter.

The Blackhawks swept the series 4-0.

Next up, the Blackhawks will face the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at 7pm to begin the Stanley Cup Finals. Here is the rest of the Stanley Cup Finals schedule.

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Breaking down the Norris Trophy race

April 23rd, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Our very own Duncan Keith was named one of the three finalists for the James Norris Trophy, which is given to the defenseman who best demonstrates the best all-around ability at the position throughout the season. The other two finalists are Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings and Mike Green of the Washington Capitals. It’s been a great season for Keith so far. He won an Olympic gold medal and signed a twelve-year extension with the organization that drafted him in the second round in 2002.

You should know Drew Doughty by now. The twenty year old came out to the hockey world at the 2010 Winter Games, where he was arguably one of the best all around defenseman on Team Canada. Then there is Mike Green. Well, he has no interest in anything that goes on in the defensive zone. For that reason he wasn’t selected to the Canadian national team like Keith and Doughty. Since the award goes to the best all-around defenseman, Green is on the outside looking in.

Yes, Green does lead all defensemen in goals, assists, points and plus/minus. But he is virtually a fourth winger and benefits from playing with Alexander Ovechkin (and the Capitals’ potent offense) on the power play. The hockey writers are smart enough to know he is just a one-way player, and isn’t this year’s best overall defenseman. In my biases opinion, it’s Keith vs. Doughty for the Norris Trophy.

It only took two seasons since being drafted in for Doughty to be a finalist for the Norris Trophy. Defense is the hardest position to master at the NHL level, and the Kings’ defenseman is already one of the best. Duncan Keith spent two years in Norfolk (AHL), and five seasons in Chicago putting in the hard work to be where is he now. As Doughty will continue to develop into a two-way force on the blue line, this might be Keith’s only shot at the Norris Trophy. If the writers can’t muster enough sentiment (not that he needs it) for Duncan, hopefully his numbers do the talking.

Keith had sixty-nine points this season, and Doughty had fifty-nine. Not that I expect anyone to delve this far into comparing the two defenders, but Keith was much more dominant at even-strength. His forty-eight points at even-strength is twenty more then Doughty, who scored the majority of this points while his team had a man-advantage. It seems almost wrong thinking that he may be penalized for that. Also Keith has been a major player in the Blackhawks awesome penalty-kill unit.

Prediction – Duncan Keith will be the first Blackhawk to win the James Norris Trophy since Chris Chelios in 1996.

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The Penalty Kill (Remastered)

April 6th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The one constant through the year, Ray, has been the penalty kill. The Blackhawks have won games like an army of steamrollers. The have constantly had problems with their power play, their goaltending and their defense. Each facet of their game has been rebuilt, erased and rebuilt again. But the penalty kill has marked the time. This ability to stymie opponents and score down a man is part of the Blackhawks’ present, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again.

- Terrence Mannakov

A little over two months ago I wrote a post about the successful penalty kill of the Blackhawks.  It has been one of the consistently good areas of play from this team all seaosn. If some other facet of their game is on the fritz, the boys have always had the penalty kill to hang their jock straps on. On January 28th (when I wrote the first post), they were fourth in the league at keeping opponents scoreless with the man-advantage at 85.6-percent. Today, the Blackhawks are fifth in the league at 84.8-percent – they haven’t allowed a goal in four-on-five situations in their last five games.

One of the most overused hockey clichés is that the goalie a team’s best penalty killer. Yea, they do have a heightened level of importance in shorthanded situations, but if the defense is anemic, a goalie has no chance of success on kill.  In the case of the Blackhawks, the skaters are a big reason their penalty kill is fifth in the league.  At the time this post was written -  compared to their peers around the league with ten or more games played -  Cristobal Huet had a goals-against average of 4.58 (eighth) while shorthanded  and Antti Niemi with a goals-against average of 5.37 (twenty-second).  Those numbers don’t support the cliché for the 2009-10 version of the Blackhawks.

When I think about the penalty kill, my mind automatically goes to the team’s defense. Coach Quenneville has the luxury of a roster full of capable defensemen and two-way forwards that are affective in their own zone and the back-check. On the blue line, Quenneville has consistently relied on a core of guys that haven’t been afraid to put their bodies on the line and block shots. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook get all the press, but you cant overlook the contributions of Brent Sopel and Niklas Hjalmarsson on the kill. When it comes to blocked shots, Sopel leads the team with 5.6 per sixty minutes and Hjalmarsson is third with 4.6 (trailing Seabrook by 0.1). The Swede also brings a calm, smart defensive style that thrives in four-on-five situations.

I alluded to Quenneville’s use of two-way forwards on the kill earlier, and Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp are staples on the penalty-killing unit because of their offensive ability. They are effective at clearing their zone of the puck and taking the action to the other end of the ice. As it stands today, the Blackhawks lead the league in shorthanded goals with eleven (Maria Hossa 5, Patrick Sharp 2, Kris Versteeg 2, Duncan Keith 1 and Troy Brouwer 1). Although Toews hasn’t scored on the kill, he has three shorthanded assists this season, and the captain’s value doesn’t always show up on the scoresheet. For example, when the Coyotes visited the UC a few weeks ago, Toews skated the puck into the defensive zone alone, and drew a cross-checking penalty from Lee Stempniak while the other ‘Hawks were executing a line change.

The fact that the Blackhawks don’t spend much time in the box helps as well. Currently, they have the second fewest shorthanded situations in the league with 250, and have played total of three games this season where they didn’t have to field the penalty kill. Fewer instances of four-on-five hockey is obviously key, and it means that the defense feels less stress and won’t break as easily if they weren’t so effective at staying out of the penalty box. With the way this team’s defense and goaltending has fared this season, that’s a good thing.

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A Return To Normalcy – Blackhawks vs. Islanders

March 2nd, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Blackhawks return to the ice tonight in Long Island. It was announced yesterday that Antti Niemi would get the start vs. the Islanders. Going back before the break this will be Niemi’s fifth consecutive game in net. I’ve never been a big Cristobal Huet fan, but even I’m jonesing for the guy to get some work between the pipes. It would be nice if we heard something from the organization as to why Coach Quenneville keeps trotting Niemi out there, because his absence from the lineup is leading to a lot of speculation – rumors that is. The Blackhawks will be fine going forward with the tandem of Niemi and Huet. It would be nice to get Huet’s contract off the books now, however.

Anyway, John Madden was activated from the injured reserve and will play tonight. It has also been reported that Ben Eager and Brent Sopel will be in the lineup as well – they were scratches going into the Olympic break. The six Olympians skated in practice and should be ready to go. The only player I’m worried about regarding fatigue is Duncan Keith, but hopefully with the acquisition of Kim Johnsson his ice-time per game will be slightly reduced in the last twenty games of the season.

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Canada Wins Gold

February 28th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Blackhawk Gold Medalists

Canada won the game the mattered. They won the gold medal, and that put a smile of this writers face. Sidney Crosby put the game-winning goal past Ryan Miller in overtime to clinch the 3-2 victory over the Americans. It was a great game. The Canadians went up 2-0 in the first period, but they attempted to coast into the win and the Americans were able to tie it up at 2-2 with less then a minute to play in the game. Team USA played with their hearts out, and surprised the hockey world with their Olympic tournament performance.

The Americans medal run caught the attention of a nation that views hockey as a fringe sport. That’s a positive when twenty-four of the thirty teams in the league reside in the United States, right? There could be a few new fans of the sport, and as far as Gary Bettman is concerned more money brought into the league.

The best player in the game was a little known American named Patrick Kane. Heard of him? Kane set up both goals by creating space and getting the puck on the net. The first was a deflection from Ryan Kesler, and the second Zach Parise was able to knock in a rebound. Jonathan Toews scored his first goal of the tournament in this game (on top of his seven assists), and was arguably the best forward in the tournament. Duncan Keith had assist in the match.

Anyways, NHL hockey resumes tomorrow night in Colorado. The first game for the Blackhawks is on Tuesday in New York vs. the Islanders. Red Rising will return to its usual ‘lemming dribble’ – someone once used that phrase when describing the blog. Not going to lie, that person is right about half the time.

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Olympic Hockey Day Nine

February 24th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

A face only a mother could love

A brief write up on how the six Blackhawks have done in the last twenty-four hours of the Olympic tournament. Also, for all the people that visit looking for Jonathan Toews’ jersey number, he wears 16 on Team Canada (Joe Thornton is 19).

Canada 8, Germany 2 (Tuesday)

Yesterday’s post does its job.

Slovakia 4, Norway 3 (Tuesday)

In last night’s late game Slovakia beat Norway 4-3. It’s a shame since we will no longer see or hear the name Tore Vikingstad in the Olympics. The Norwegians made things interesting with their two goals in the second period to tie the game at 3-3, but Miroslav Satan put the Slovaks on top with his third period goal. Marian Hossa had an assist in the game, and Tomas Kopecky was on the ice for the game-winning goal. Slovakia will face the Swedes in the late game tonight.

USA 2, Switzerland 0

Those pesky Swiss gave the United States a run for their money in their quarterfinal match this afternoon. Jonas Hiller and Ryan Miller were great for their respective teams, but Zach Parise put one by the Swiss goalie early in the third to spoil his solid game – he stopped forty-two of the forty-three shots faced. Patrick Kane didn’t crack the scoresheet. The Americans will play Finland on Friday. No one thought Team USA would make it this far.

Canada 7, Russia 3

The Canadians played with the sense of urgency they needed to beat the Russians in an elimination game. It appeared as though they just overwhelmed the Ruskies from the get go going up 4-1 in the first period. Team Canada was just better in every aspect – offense, goaltending and physical play. Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith had two assists each, and Brent Seabrook didn’t tally a point in this game. Toews was great on both ends of the ice all game.

I hate to see such a talented team get knocked out of the tournament this early, but it’s better that it was the Russians then the Candians. Seeing the Canada come out so strong gives me hope for the rest of the tournament. After going to overtime with the Swiss and losing to the Americans I was a little worried. Next up, the Canadians will play the Slovaks in the semifinal round.

Slovakia 5, Sweden 4

Well, the Slovaks completed a guaranteed Sweden- and Russian-less Olympic semifinal round. No one could have predicted that. The Slovakian win also guaranteed all six Blackhawks would participate in the semifinal round – giving each ‘Hawk a chance to return to Chicago with a medal around their neck. Hossa had three assists against the Swedes, and Kopecky scored the game-winning goal. The underrated Slovak team will attempt another upset of the Canadians this Friday.

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Olympic Hockey Day Eight – Canada 8, Germany 2

February 23rd, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Canadians were able to beat a team they were expected to in the Germans 8-2. This game was used as a tune-up for the Russians – which they face tomorrow night. The line combinations worked – especially that of Eric Stall, Sidney Crosby and Jarome Iginla – and the goaltending from Roberto Luongo was virtually mistake free. The Germans pressed hard in the final two periods and scored two goals because of it. Luongo will get the start tomorrow.

On the Blackhawk front, Duncan Keith had two assists in the game and Jonathan Toews had one helper. Those two have been solid for the Canadian national team during the Olympics.

A day off is always nice, but the Canadians will benefit from having played an extra game going into the match-up with the Ruskies. To the Canadian team tomorrow’s game against Russia is bigger then the one against the Americans. Not only because of the potential for elimination, but the two have been butting heads for so long as the top teams in international hockey. This match-up was touted at the gold medal game going into the Olympics. Team Canada will have their hands full with the physical Russian team and a lot of firepower.

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Olympic Hockey Day Six – USA vs. Canada

February 21st, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Team Canada

Big game today – Team USA vs. Team Canada – to determine the overall winner of Group A and a possible first round bye. Four Blackhawks will skate in the game – Patrick Kane (USA), Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook (Canada). The Canadians are favorites, but the Americans are going to bring it and there has already been some trash talking from the classy (sarcasm) Ryan Kesler. Mr. Kesler will find out soon enough that the Canadians do their talking on the ice.

Anyway, this game should live up to its bill. The top teams – Canada being one – haven’t had the cakewalk they expect when rolling through their respective groups. The Russians lost to Slovakia, the Swiss took Canada to a shootout and the Belarusian team even challenged the Swedes. It has led to some exciting hockey – even among the lesser-hyped teams. Today’s game could arguably be the most anticipated game. Even in Whistler, all the way up the mountains, there is a lot of buzz. Too bad for the Americans – who have been playing good hockey – they won’t escape this game with a win.

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