6- GAME SUSPENSION FOR KEITH
KEITH GETS A BREAK WITH SIX- GAME BAN FOR WHAT NHL CALLS ‘ ACT OF VIOLENCE’
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — After describing Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith’s onehanded stick swing to an opponent’s face as ‘‘ an intentional and retaliatory act of violence by a player with a history of using his stick as a weapon,’’ the NHL’s Department of Player Safety suspended him for six games Friday.
That means that Keith only will miss one playoff game and that the most heavily leaned- on player on the Hawks will get a two- week break before the playoffs begin.
It could have been a lot worse. Then it almost got a lot worse.
The Hawks rallied for a 5- 4 overtime victory against the Winnipeg Jets, with Brent Seabrook scoring the game- winning goal off a pass from Artemi Panarin, who snapped out of his recent funk with two goals and two assists.
‘‘ You always take two points,’’ said defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, who played nearly 27 minutes in Keith’s absence.
At one point late in the second period, the Hawks were without Corey Crawford ( apparent head injury), Marian Hossa ( illness), Keith ( suspension), Andrew Shaw ( had to be helped off the ice), Trevor van Riemsdyk ( left the game after taking a big hit) and Jonathan Toews ( took a clearing attempt in the right ear).
‘‘ I was looking at our bench, and I was wondering where everybody was,’’ Hjalmarsson said.
Toews and van Riemsdyk returned for the third period, but Shaw didn’t. Coach Joel Quenneville said Shaw is day- to- day with an upper- body injury, but it’s not serious. It was one last bit of relief on a day filled with it.
First came Keith’s suspension news, which the players didn’t find out about until after the game. Then Panarin and Patrick Kane broke out of their scoring droughts with four and two points, respectively. Kane now has 40 goals and 96 points. Panarin scored the equalizer with 4: 45 left in regulation after Dustin Byfuglien and Blake Wheeler had turned the Hawks’ 3- 2 lead into a 4- 3 deficit.
With the victory, the Hawks moved a comfortable six points ahead of the Nashville Predators for third place in the Central Division, a critical spot in the standings to avoid a trip to Los Angeles or Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs. They also moved four points behind the second- place St. Louis Blues with four games left.
But the big news was the office news. Keith hit the Minnesota Wild’s Charlie Coyle across the face with a one- handed swing of his stick Tuesday. In a video detailing its decision, the NHL said: ‘‘ While on his back, Keith looks at Coyle, winds his arm back, then slashes his stick dangerously and violently directly into the face of Coyle.’’
Given the incendiary language used by the Department of Player Safety and his two previous suspensions for retaliatory acts, the Hawks are fortunate Keith will miss only one playoff game.
‘‘ We’re obviously glad it’s not more,’’ Seabrook said. ‘‘ He’s such a valuable part of this team. . . . We’re going to all have to band together and pick up the slack for Dunc. I’m sure he’ll be humming for Game 2.’’
Keith, the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the most valuable player of the playoffs, has yet to speak publicly since the incident.
‘‘ One playoff game is very big when you know his importance to our team and the minutes that he absorbs,’’ Quenneville said. ‘‘ Some guys got way more [ minutes] than they were accustomed to. I think you could tell some shifts in the third period.’’