WINNIPEG – The Chicago Blackhawks caught a break Friday night when the NHL suspended defenseman Duncan Keith the five remaining games of the regular season and only one playoff game for slashing Wild forward Charlie Coyle in the face Tuesday night.
The Blackhawks knew Keith, a two-time Norris Trophy winner and the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner, likely would be suspended for the rest of the regular season when he was invited by the NHL for an in-person hearing, which usually calls for six or more games. They were worried how many games would filter into the postseason.
"Obviously, glad it's not more," defenseman Brent Seabrook said after scoring the overtime winner against Winnipeg on Friday night. "He's such a valuable part of this team."
Keith waived his right to go to league headquarters in New York and had a phone hearing Friday afternoon. A decision was rendered four hours later.
"We're respectful for the decision," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We'll take it and move on and learn from it as well."
Asked if he was relieved, Quenneville said, "One playoff game is very big when you [consider] his importance to our team."
The league called Keith's slash a dangerous, intentional and violent retaliation to a "light shove" from Coyle that was compounded by Coyle's stick being entangled in Marco Scandella's skates. The league said that even if Coyle had intentionally tripped Keith, that would "not in any way excuse a response of this kind."
It was Keith's third suspension, including one game for a similar high-stick in the 2013 Western Conference finals against Los Angeles' Jeff Carter.
