Duncan Keith daggers Predators to clinch first round series
The story of Chicago’s series win over Nashville was simple. The Blackhawks have Duncan Keith and the Predators don’t. In the series, Keith, a former Norris Trophy winner, put on a virtuoso performance.
He notched two game-winners – one in overtime in Game 1, and the eventual series winner at the 16:12 mark of the third period of Saturday’s Game 6, a 4-3 Chicago win. He had a goal and two assists in the clincher.
Here is Keith’s score:
Overall the series saw lack of consistency in Chicago’s goaltending between starter Corey Crawford and backup Scott Darling. Crawford was yanked the first game, and allowed six goals in Game 2 while Darling won three of the contests, before he was pulled in the first period Game 6. Crawford closed out Nashville with 13 saves on 13 Predators shots on goal.
Nashville withstood the Blackhawks the best they could without captain Shea Weber who was sidelined in Game 2 with a lower body injury. The Predators were up 2-0 and 3-1 in this game, but could not close out the Hawks and send the series back to Nashville for Game 7.
As for the Hawks, they look good as ever. And with Keith (seven points in six games and an average of 32:03 of ice-time) playing this well and Patrick Kane having a few days to rest his healing broken clavicle (though he was solid with two goals and five assists) Chicago looks like a legit Stanley Cup contender. But Crawford is going to have to play more consistently to not be Chicago’s version of Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury circa 2013.
And the Predators? They were in this series the whole way, lost two overtime games, and had leads in Game 6. Rookie Filip Forsberg notched a hat trick in Game 5. Sophomore Seth Jones averaged 28:02 of ice-time in his first playoffs after he was thrust onto the top pairing following Weber’s injury. The future is becoming now … but it’ll take all summer to see it realized next season.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
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