Keith proving big minutes, big moments for Blackhawks

CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks gave defenseman Duncan Keith two days off in preparation for Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Wild on Friday night. The team didn't practice Monday, and Keith was told to take it easy Tuesday.

Rarely would any of this be noteworthy if not for the fact that resting is hardly what comes to mind when talking about Chicago's two-time Norris Trophy winner.

It's not only that Keith is anchoring the Blackhawks defense; he's doing so while paired with Michal Rozsival. He's doing so as one of Chicago's top three playoff scorers. And Keith is doing all of this while averaging nearly 30 minutes per game.

Not that the latter bothers him. Before Keith built an NHL career on his ability to stay on the ice, he was just another kid in Ontario who refused to get off it.

"I've always played a lot of minutes, even when I was a kid," Keith said before Chicago's 4-3 victory over the Wild in Game 1 Friday night at the United Center. "Maybe all those years of being on an outdoor rink all day long kind of makes playing five or six periods not that much when you play seven or eight hours."

So if the Wild is going to show that it can defeat one of the NHL's elite teams, it will have to at least neutralize one of the best defensemen in the league for at least half of each game to do it.

Oddly enough, that was one positive the Wild could take from last year's playoffs when Chicago bounced it in six games. Keith had registered seven points (two goals, five assists) in the playoffs heading into the second round in 2014. The Wild held him to one point and an even plus/minus in that series.

"You could see in the first series he's been involved," Rozsival said. "It makes me as a partner stay back and try and back him up. He's always pushing me, because he probably feels like he could be in my corner before I get there."

That last bit isn't an exaggeration, either. Rozsival, 32, understood that it would take a few games to get used to playing with Keith when coach Joel Quenneville paired the two toward the end of the regular season. It wasn't until Rozsival started skating with Keith that he realized how much quicker he'd have to play. Once Keith started beating Rozsival to pucks he was responsible for, he knew he'd have to change his pace.

When the Blackhawks backup goaltender Scott Darling saw his first playoff action against Nashville, Keith's pace surprised him, too. Not that Darling wasn't used to Keith playing at such a high speed, but that he was committed to keeping his game the same as it had been all year.

"He always competes at that high level, which is the most impressive thing about him," Darling said. "He's so talented and he can get in on the attack, but he's so quick he can get back on defense. Every facet of his game is just that much better than the average defenseman. He can make up for anything."

Added Wild coach Mike Yeo: "His skating ability makes him a tough guy to attack off the rush because his gaps are always good,"

Yet that might actually be another reason for the Wild to worry. After playing 192 minutes in six games, Keith didn't flinch about getting right back on the ice.