Blackhawks Showing No Concern About Overworking Top D-Men in Stanley Cup Final

TAMPA, Fla. — Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya is sick of the questions.

“Yeah, this question comes up every day now,” he said on Thursday at Amalie Arena. “I think maybe the talk of all this is a little—how do you say?—it's gone on and it became something that maybe it's not as big of a deal.”

Because of an injury to Michal Rozsival at the end of the second round and a lack of defensemen head coach Joel Quenneville trusts beyond his top-four guys, the Blackhawks have leaned heavily on Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Oduya over the past eight games.

That workload, combined with the physical nature of the Anaheim Ducks, could’ve worn the Blackhawks down over seven games of the Western Conference Final.

Instead, the Blackhawks seemed to get better as the series progressed and overcame a 3-2 series deficit to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

Mike Carlson/Getty Images

The Blackhawks made it three straight wins by again rallying on Wednesday, this time from down a goal in the third period to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Keith (29:15), Seabrook (26:23), Oduya (23:46) and Hjalmarsson (22:34) carried the water again, while Kyle Cumiskey (5:01) and David Rundblad (7:22) were mostly there because the Blackhawks already have uniforms for them.

Kimmo Timonen, acquired for a second-round pick at the trade deadline, has been a healthy scratch since Game 6 of the third round.

Oduya may want to downplay it, but it is a big deal—and not because overworking these four defensemen could have long-term detrimental effects, which was the notion against the Ducks. It’s that what these four defensemen are doing in the postseason is nearly unprecedented.

“Especially for the top three guys, they have the experience,” Oduya said. “They've been around. It's their third time around now. Obviously (they are) great hockey players. As for the rest of us, maybe there's a little bump obviously in minutes. But that's something that a lot of times you like and you thrive on situations like that.”

Since the 2004-05 lockout, only one Stanley Cup champion used its top-four defensemen more than this year's Blackhawks:

Year	Team	Defensemen	Avg. TOI
2006	Carolina	Hedican, Ward, Commodore, Kaberle	20:06
2007	Anaheim	Pronger, Niedermayer, Beauchemin, O'Donnell	27:47
2008	Detroit	Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Stuart	22:42
2009	Pittsburgh	Gonchar, Orpik, Scuderi, Gill	20:45
2010	Chicago	Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, Campbell	23:14
2011	Boston	Chara, Seidenberg, Boychuk, Ference	24:08
2012	Los Angeles	Doughty, Voynov, Mitchell, Scuderi	23:11
2013	Chicago	Keith, Hjalmarsson, Seabrook, Oduya	24:07
2014	Los Angeles	Doughty, Muzzin, Voynov, Mitchell	24:23
2015	Chicago	Keith, Hjalmarsson, Seabrook, Oduya	27:23

It’s understandable why the Ducks would want Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer on the ice as often as possible, considering Niedermayer is in the Hall of Fame and Pronger will get there eventually.

But since Rozsival’s injury, the Blackhawks’ top-four blueliners are averaging more than 29 minutes per game between them. Some of that has to do with the Blackhawks playing a triple- and double-overtime game last round, although that doesn't make this any less impressive.

The fifth defenseman on the 2007 Ducks was Kent Huskins, who logged 11:44 per game. With Rozsival out, Cumiskey is serving that role and has played fewer than nine minutes in four of his seven games.

Oduya doesn't want to talk about any of this because, to him, it doesn't matter. The fact that it doesn't matter is what makes the Blackhawks being three wins from a Stanley Cup while employing this tactic for two rounds so special.

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

"We've done this before too in the playoffs where we used five D-men pretty much halfway through playoffs," Oduya said. "Maybe at that time, it was a little bit more you stay with one guy and at the beginning of the playoffs, that was a little bit more of a concern. But the last two series, we're mixing and matching pretty much and I think everybody feels comfortable playing with anybody. You get used to it after a while and it feels normal once you get into the rotation."

While the 2007 Ducks had Pronger and Niedermayer, the Blackhawks' only surefire Hall of Fame inductee is Keith, who owns two Olympic gold medals, two Norris Trophies and is three wins away from a third Stanley Cup and a probable Conn Smythe Trophy.

Seabrook will have a case for induction as well, although Keith is clearly the alpha dog of Chicago's back end.

Keith appears to get stronger as the game progresses. It's as if he has an inverted respiratory system that operates at a higher level the more he exerts himself.

The numbers support the theory that Keith is a cyborg. Since the start of the third round, Keith has nine points in eight games while averaging 32:30 per game, which is about seven minutes more than he averaged in the regular season.

In the third period of Game 1 against the Lightning, he set up Teuvo Teravainen's game-tying goal and was on the ice for Antoine Vermette's winner.

Keith was in the midst of his 26th minute when he shook off the defense of Steven Stamkos to dish the puck to Teravainen for the goal that turned the game around.

"He's made some great plays this playoffs," Quenneville said. "How many guys can make that play? There's probably I'd say maybe a handful. He's made some terrific plays this playoff series, through sticks, inside coverage, patience, play recognition, spins off the point in some tight areas. When you're behind, he even has a greener light. He's not afraid to try things. He surprises you sometimes with his imagination with the puck."

If the Blackhawks want to be blase about all this, that's their prerogative.

But Chicago's extreme reliance on its top defensemen was once considered by many—including James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail—as the beginning of the end for this team in the conference finals, it has somehow become a moot point.

All statistics via NHL.com and all quotes obtained firsthand.

Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @DaveLozo.