Duncan Keith's Hero Hockey Gives Blackhawks Bounce-Back Win to Force Game 7

Duncan Keith wants to play even more hockey.

Coming into his Chicago Blackhawks' win-or-go-home Game 6 on Wednesday night against the Anaheim Ducks, Keith was already averaging 45 percent of Chicago's overall possible ice time in the series. He played 49 minutes and 51 seconds in the double-overtime Game 2, 40:39 in the double-OT Game 4. He played 46:19 of an earlier triple-OT game against Nashville.

In Game 6, Keith loafed around with just 28:35 of ice time. But what quality there was in what was, for him, a lower-quantity night.

Keith's three assists, not to mention a last-second save of a puck that was going into the Blackhawks' net and would have tied the game up in the third, were the main story in Chicago's 5-2 win.

Far from being too winded to speak with NBC's Pierre McGuire right after the game, though, Keith had this to say when asked if he thought the extra day off would be good for his team entering Saturday's showdown for the Western Conference title at the Honda Center.

"I think both teams would be ready to play tomorrow if we had to," Keith told McGuire. "At this point in time, I don't think both teams need another day."

"I know I'm older than he is," legendary NBC announcer Mike "Doc" Emrick said right after. "I need another day."

Keith has been the Bionic Man for a Blackhawks club that reached back for some of that old-time championship magic against a very good and very hungry Anaheim club. He was sublime defensively but just as good at the other end.

Check out his pass to Marian Hossa on Chicago's second goal in the video above.

This was the 20th time the Blackhawks had trailed a series 3-2. They had only come back to win any of the series twice (against Detroit in the Original Six 1965 league semifinals and against the Red Wings in the 2013 conference semifinals).

They can make it a third time on Saturday in what figures to be a great game. Seriously, how close has this series been, and how great will it be to see this thing settled once and for all in a seventh game?

Game 6 seemed like a snoozer, a genuine blowout after Patrick Kane made it 3-0 at the 12:08 mark of the second period. The Ducks appeared dead, but then they made a push. Wow, did they ever make a push. Patrick Maroon cut it to 3-1 late in the second, Clayton Stoner made it 3-2 early in the third and the Ducks mostly dominated play for the next 10 minutes or so, nearly tying the contest a couple of times.

Corey Perry looked to have the equalizer on a rebound putback, but Keith steered the puck away at the last moment before it headed across the goal line. Check out this screenshot of the play:

"Seemed like the last 12, 15 minutes, they were comin' at us," Keith told McGuire on the ice. "We just tried to stay calm and play good (defense), and I thought we did that for the most part. It's two good teams playing hard with a lot of offensive firepower."

So much has been made, and rightly so, of Chicago playing only four defensemen the majority of the time in this series, along with the wide disparity in accredited hits by the teams.

All those hits will take their toll in the end, the Ducks and their backers said. Chicago can't get away with playing only four D-men forever.

Well, Saturday is Anaheim's last shot at proving those predictions right. Meanwhile, Keith just keeps right on plowing ahead, seemingly getting stronger as the series goes on.

Here is the nice way Blackhawks beat writer Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times summed up Keith's performance:

"

Duncan Keith was supposed to be a shell of himself by this point — all the minutes and all the hits and all the burdens he bears weighing him down, dragging him to the ice, slowing him down. All those overtimes were only supposed to make it worse, cranking up his average ice time to a league-leading 32 minutes.

So much for that theory.

The indefatigable — possibly inhuman — Keith burnished his Conn Smythe Trophy credentials by triggering three second-period goals and saving another in a spectacular performance to lead the Blackhawks to a 5-2 victory in Game 6.

"

Lazerus also tweeted this gem of a quote from Chicago coach Joel Quenneville on Keith:

Anyone want to make a bet on Saturday's game? I sure don't. Chicago has a roster full of gamers with multiple Stanley Cups to their names, while Anaheim is clearly worthy of a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

If you had to give an edge to one club, it would have to be to the Ducks with their home-ice advantage. According to 25stanley in May 2014, home teams were 91-63 all-time in Game 7s.

Nevertheless, the edge figures to be as thin as a shaving of ice.

It's got to be a great game. It has to be after all this. Anaheim's Patrick Maroon, who scored in Game 6 and nearly tied it up at 3-3 with a tip in the third, promised a different team than the one that started too slowly in this one:

Everybody will gather their breath for one more game in this great series. Everyone, maybe, except Keith, who—just like another great Chicago athlete—might just want to play two on Saturday night.

 

Adrian Dater has covered the NHL since 1995. Follow him on Twitter @Adater.