ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Duncan Keith never worried about how he and the Chicago Blackhawks' other defensemen were going to get by when teammate Michal Rozsival left after suffering a gruesome ankle injury during the second period Thursday against the Minnesota Wild.
Keith felt for Rozsival, but there was no panic or thought to how the unit would adjust without him. The Blackhawks were just going to do it in Keith’s mind.
“It’s just playing hockey,” Keith said. “I don’t look into it any more than that. We all try to play the same way, try to play our game whoever we’re out there with. A lot of us have played together on the same team for a long time. It’s just playing hockey.”
The Blackhawks’ top four defensemen played a lot of hockey in Game 4. After Rozsival’s departure, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville leaned particularly on Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya over the final 30-plus minutes. They didn’t let him down as the Blackhawks held onto an early lead and pulled out a 4-3 victory over the Wild to complete the second-round series sweep.
Keith logged 29 minutes, 39 seconds of ice time for the game, 11:13 in the third period. He was followed by Hjalmarsson (26:09 game, 9:32 third period), Seabrook (24:57, 9:28), Oduya (22:28, 8:04) and Kimmo Timonen (8:25, 1:43).
“They did a great job,” Quenneville said. “I just think that balance and those guys having exposure to meaningful minutes in a lot of key games, big moments, big games. You know they played the right way. I think they got a lot of help from their forwards as well. When you get a lead, it’s probably not as taxing because you don’t have to make plays. You just got to play it simple and make safe plays.”
Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson and Oduya have had a lot of experience together -- and have had to adjust to similar situations in the past. Keith and Seabrook have been teammates since 2005. Hjalmarsson joined the group in 2007. Oduya came to the team in 2012. That experience was evident throughout Game 4 as they rotated partners and never lost a beat.
“We’ve done a good job of our D core rotating different guys all year,” Keith said. “Obviously it’s a loss to lose a guy like Rozy, a veteran guy like that. I think we’ve got a lot of veterans in here that are capable of providing leadership. We’ve got other defensemen who are capable of stepping in there. We’ve also played with different guys. I think that whatever happens it’s always an adjustment. Every game is an adjustment no matter who you’re playing with.”
Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp thought the defensemen’s play after Rozsival left the game was key to the victory.
“To see the way the defense stepped up and played shorthanded from basically the halfway point of the game on was impressive,” Sharp said. “Credit to them.”
The Blackhawks will likely have to adjust to Rozsival being out for at least the beginning of Western Conference finals; Quenneville said Rozsival’s injury looked “not good." If Rozsival is unable to play, Quenneville could turn to David Rundblad again. Rundblad played in 49 regular-season games this season, but has been a healthy scratch throughout the playoffs. Kyle Cumiskey and Michael Paliotta are the other defensemen on the Blackhawks' playoff roster.
“We got a number of players who can step up and fill that role depend on how Mich is doing,” Sharp said. “We’ll figure that out down the road. Depth has been a strength of this team at all positions. We’ll see what happens.”
