Chicago fans are banned for slurs

The racial taunts four fans directed at the Washington Capitals’ Devante Smith-Pelly Saturday night at United Center left Blackhawks forward Anthony Duclair disappointed but “not really shocked.”

“Happens so often, not only in hockey, not only in sports, but in society as a whole,” Duclair said Monday.

“You’d think there would be some change after some years, especially [after the NHL] came out with the ad, ‘Hockey Is for Everyone.’

“How do I feel? If they were Blackhawks fans, they would know there’s a black player on their team. These four people think a certain way, and it’s not just those four people. It’s a lot more. There’s a lot more racism than you guys think that’s going on.”

A Blackhawks official said that the four people who were ejected Saturday no longer are welcome to attend games at United Center. “Racist comments and other inappropriate behavior are not tolerated by the Chicago Blackhawks,” a team statement said.

Capitals

Alex Ovechkin can stop fretting about what Washington’s captain described as the worst game of his career. He and the Capitals were much better in a 3-2 win Monday against the Buffalo Sabres, two days after a 7-1 meltdown at Chicago. After being held without a shot against Chicago, Ovechkin responded by scoring his NHL-leading 35th goal, and Washington reclaimed the top spot in the Metropolitan Division.

“Yeah, I think the last game I didn’t play my game. I think it was the worst play of my career by myself. I take the blame on it,” Ovechkin said. “I think we understand the game in Chicago was just forget about it, you know.”

• Coach Barry Trotz said teams can’t have enough defensive depth in discussing Washington acquiring Michal Kempny in a trade Monday with the Blackhawks. In exchange for Kempny, the Blackhawks received a conditional 2018 third-round pick from the Capitals, who made the deal a week before the NHL trade deadline. The Capitals will part with the higher selection between their own third-rounder and the Toronto pick they acquired from New Jersey as part of the Marcus Johansson deal.

“We see as the season goes on and the games get more intense, you need depth,” Trotz said. “And no one can have enough depth on defense.”