Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith has never been fined or suspended in his seven seasons in the NHL. That, along with the fact that Daniel Sedin didn't return in the second period after a Keith elbow to the head will play into the decision of whether or not he will receive any sort of supplemental discipline.
Here's video of the elbow:
Keith was given two minutes for elbowing.
The puck takes a wicked bounce off the boards and then Keith goes in for the hit. Why he leads with his elbow in the direction of Daniel's head is a question for Keith.
Where have you gone, bodycheck?
Shane Doan will definitely be suspended after his elbow to the head of Jamie Benn on Tuesday night. "Definitely" only because he was given a 3-game ban in Oct. 2010 and was fined just last week. Keith has a clean history and Sedin is done for the night. Mr. Keith will likely be getting a phone call with Brendan Shanahan on Thursday now.
After the game, Keith told Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times:
"I think on that play - and I haven't seen the replay so it's tough for me to comment too much on it - but I'm not trying to hurt anybody. I hope he's OK. He's one of their best players so he needs to be on the ice.
"The puck was up in the air from what I remember and I'm trying to close my gap and have a good gap on him. Right at the last second, he moves forward. I don't know where the puck is. It's fast. Like I said, I hope he's OK. I need to see the replay. I need to see it again."
According to Henrik Sedin, Keith's hit was premeditated. From CSN Chicago:
"It's one of those hits where things were said before from a certain guy and he did what he wanted to and that's too bad. But again, they are tough team over there and we're the diving bunch so I guess there's not much to say about that.
"I got a lot of respect for a lot of guys on their team. There've been things said from their room before, but not from him," Henrik said of Keith to NHL.com. "He's always been good, but I don't know if it was too [many] emotions playing against us or what it was. Again, it's too bad. I had a lot of respect for him."
UPDATE: Minutes before Keith's elbow on Sedin, the Canucks forward laid a shoulder on the Blackhawks defenseman connecting with his head:
Maybe Shanahan will have a three-way conference call with Sedin and Keith on Thursday?
Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy