Duncan Keith was keeping himself as busyor not busyas he could during his suspension: working out a little, walking his dogs a lot. And he got rest, a lot of rest.
And that rest for Keith, who has played a ton of minutes again this season, could prove very beneficial.
Keiths five-game suspension is in the books now, and he will return to the Blackhawks lineup on Thursday night when they play the Minnesota Wild. It wasnt fun sitting on the sidelines these last five games for Keith, who has had a massive workload these past two seasons. But he said he took advantage of the down time and feels good entering Thursday.
I feel good and stronger than I was before so I think hopefully it pays off, said Keith, who said he gained back a few pounds hes lost with all the minutes this season. When youve been playing and skating the whole season and suddenly you stop, it throws you off a bit. But Ive been trying to stay sharp so it shouldnt be that much of a problem.
The Blackhawks suffered a 6-1 drubbing to the Nashville Predators in Keiths first game out, but that was just a bad team game. The defense made do in his absence, with Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson pairing on that top group. The Blackhawks got through the stretch relatively well, going 2-1-2.
It just shows the depth we have, said Keith, who will obviously go back to his usual spot with Seabrook. I think we probably have the best depth at defensemen in the league, especially with the addition of (Johnny) Oduya. Obviously you want to be out there playing but they did a great job and played well.
Now with Keith back, the Blackhawks will basically be at full strength along the blue line.
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Hes obviously a huge leader on this team. We miss him, Nick Leddy said. He makes everyone else better, so its exciting to have him back there.