Defensemen dominate play
Indefatigable Keith among top reasons for offensive woes.
After Steven Stamkos stepped off the Lightning’s practice rink on a 90-degree June day, the Tampa Bay captain made it clear he is well aware that he hasn’t scored a goal yet in his first Stanley Cup Final.
Stamkos and his Lightning teammates are determined to keep their cool and their focus when this exceptionally even series with the Chicago Blackhawks begins its sprint to the finish in Game 5 tonight.
“Keep playing the game the right way, and eventually you’re going to get rewarded,” Stamkos said Friday.
Chicago’s Patrick Kane feels much the same way, both about his own goalless final and the Blackhawks’ game in general. Both stars are hoping for that breakthrough score this weekend at Amalie Arena, where either the Lightning or the Blackhawks will end the 2-2 series tie and move one win away from a title.
In a postseason missing a breakout offensive performance or a dominant goaltending run, Chicago’s Duncan Keith and Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman are the odds-on favorites to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs MVP. Barring a
GAME 1: GAME 2: GAME 3: GAME 4: GAME 5: GAME 6: *GAME 7:
Chicago 2,Tampa Bay 1 Tampa Bay 4, Chicago 3 Tampa Bay 3, Chicago 2 Chicago 2,Tampa Bay 1 Tonight at Tampa Bay, NBC Monday at Chicago, NBC Wednesday at Tampa Bay, NBC * if necessary spectacular pile of goals from a forward, the series winner seems likely to feature the first defenseman to claim the Conn Smythe since Ana- heim’s Scott Niedermayer in 2007.
Keith and Hedman are 1-2 in the NHL in postseason plus-minus ratings and total minutes. Keith leads the playoffs with 18 assists during his incredible extended ice time, while Hedman has set franchise playoff records for assists and points by a defenseman.
“In a lot of ways, (Hedman) is a guy like Duncan,” Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. “He makes, more times than not, the players he’s out there with better. He’s a catalyst when he’s in his own zone or the offensive zone.”
Only four defensemen in NHL history have recorded more than Keith’s 18 assists in this postseason, and nobody has done it since Brian Leetch’s 23 during the New York Rangers’ Stanley Cup run in 1994.
Keith’s numbers are uniformly strong in the postseason, but his sheer minutes are the most jaw-dropping aspect of it all. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is relying largely on four veteran defenseman, showing little interest in his third pairing — or perhaps simply demonstrating confidence that Keith can handle more minutes than just about any defenseman in recent memory.
Keith has played almost 656 minutes in the postseason — nearly 11 full regulation games.
Both teams used the extra day off for recuperation and final strategic adjustments. The Lightning say they don’t know whether goaltender Ben Bishop will return from his undisclosed injury to start Game 5.