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 Instead, check out the players who line up right behind the team's
biggest stars. Chicago's athletic defensemen play a prominent role
in the NHL's most potent offense.
Duncan Keith leads all NHL defensemen with 30 assists. Niklas
Hjalmarsson is on pace for career highs in goals and assists. Brent
Seabrook has three goals and 23 assists after he had 20 points in 47
games last season. Nick Leddy and Johnny Oduya also have provided
valuable support on offense.
It's hard enough for teams to deal with the likes of Kane and Toews.
Now, when Keith & Co. are coming up and taking aim, the Blackhawks
turn into a goaltender's nightmare.
"I love our defense. They've been huge for us the past two seasons,"
forward Patrick Sharp said. "They all skate well. They all move the
puck and with the forwards that we have in our locker room, we like
to get it with speed and they do a good job of getting it to us. Our
defense (has) been the key to our team this year."
The importance of Chicago's offensive defensemen was on full display
Monday night, when the Blackhawks beat the New Jersey Devils 5-2 for
their sixth win in the last eight games. Leddy helped set up Kane's
tiebreaking goal in the second period, and then capped the scoring
with his fifth of the season in the third. Seabrook added two
assists.
It was the Blackhawks' 15th game with at least five goals, running
their league-best total to 145. They also lead the NHL with an
average of 2.87 points a game by their defensemen, according to
STATS, a significant increase from their 2.08 average for last
season's Stanley Cup-winning team.
St. Louis, which hosts Chicago on Saturday night, is next on the
list with 2.64 points a game for its defensemen and 128 goals
overall.
"I think as a defense corps you know that it's important that we
help control the offensive goal, not just necessarily scoring points
but just being in on the attack and being an extra option that might
create some space for our forwards," said Keith, who also had an
assist against the Devils.
Keith is one of the top contenders for the Norris Trophy after he
took home the award for the NHL's top defenseman in 2010. The
30-year-old Keith, who was selected by the Blackhawks in the second
round of the 2002 draft, has led the team in ice time every season
since he made his debut in 2005.
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He plays alongside Seabrook in Chicago's top defensive pairing.
"The two of them have been together basically since they broke into
the league," said coach Joel Quenneville, a former NHL defenseman.
"That's been a big part of our team. When you think about all the
shifts they've played together, there's a lot of familiarity with
one another and I think they complement each other for the right
reasons."
That familiarity is a common theme when it comes to the Blackhawks'
defensemen.
Seabrook, a first-round draft pick by Chicago in 2003, had two of
the Blackhawks' biggest goals in their run to the title last season.
He scored in overtime in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals
against Detroit after Chicago battled back from a 3-1 series
deficit, and then had another overtime winner in Game 4 of the
Stanley Cup finals at Boston.
Hjalmarsson also was drafted by the Blackhawks and is in his seventh
season with the team. The 22-year-old Leddy, a 2009 first-round
selection by Minnesota, was acquired in a trade in 2010 and has
played for Chicago for four seasons. Oduya came over in a February
2012 trade with Winnipeg.
"You're with a group or a linemate or a defense partner for a
certain amount of time, you develop that chemistry on the ice and
even off the ice," Keith said. "You become more familiar with one
another and closer. I just think it helps the overall game on the
ice knowing what guys tend to do out on the ice and what they want
to do."
The Blackhawks (26-7-6) also have done a strong job of finding the
right players for their system, which emphasizes puck possession.
The eight defensemen on Chicago's roster range in height from 6-foot
(Leddy and Oduya) to 6-3 (Seabrook and Hjalmarsson) and weight from
190 pounds for Oduya to 221 for Seabrook. The top defensemen are all
strong skaters who are comfortable with the puck on their stick and
can cover a lot of ground in a hurry.
"The style of play fits the player and the player fits style of
play," Oduya said. "I think that's important."
___
Jay Cohen can be reached at
http://twitter.com/jcohenap. [Associated
Press]
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