The Weekend Hangover: Nov. 18-19

Bad defense kills, and Duncan Keith is having a bad weekend.

On the ice for seven Oilers goals in Edmonton's 9-2 victory Saturday night. Keith, to be fair, was on the ice for a Blackhawks goal. In addition, Keith finished the night a minus-4 and may end up drawing a session in NHL court for knocking Taylor Hall into the boards from behind.

Just saying, things can go bad quickly. And after a victory in Vancouver to start the week, the Blackhawks put up two terrible performances against Calgary (minus-4, one assist)and Edmonton.



For his efforts in the 2009-10 season, Keith was awarded the Norris Trophy as best defenseman. The next season, neither he or his teammates were up to the challenge of repeating for any hardware.

And this season, stretches of good play have been marked with bad decisions. His cross-ice pass near the blue line against Vancouver set up a breakaway chance, one that required Corey Crawford to foil.

Saturday against the Oilers, Keith and the rest of the Blackhawks' defense was horrible. And don't think the folks at Hockey Night In Canada didn't notice. The CBC's P.J. Stock and Kelly Hrudey were all over the poor defensive play; I'm certain Mike Milbury said something, too, but I have learned to yell "LAH, LAH, LAH, LAH" when ever he talks. It helps drown out his voice.

But the LAH strategy will not drown out the poor defensive play by the Blackhawks. Be it the coach, the captain or the players, somebody needs to identify the problem and get a solution on the table now. There is a matter of hardware at stake.

Time to roll the scores for the weekend
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Saturday
At Winnipeg 6, Philadelphia 4
Detroit 4, at Los Angeles 1
Phoenix 4, at Buffalo 2
At Toronto 7, Washington 1
At Montreal 4, N.Y. Rangers 0
Boston 6, at N.Y. Islanders 0
New Jersey 4, at Tampa Bay 2
At Florida 3, Pittsburgh 2
Columbus 4, at Nashville 3 OT
At Minnesota 3, St. Louis 2 SO
San Jose 4, at Dallas 1
At Edmonton 9, Chicago 2
Friday
Buffalo 1, at Carolina 0
At Colorado 3, Dallas 0
At Calgary 5, Chicago 2

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Saturday
At Toronto 3, Rochester 2
At St. John's 3, Norfolk 1
Springfield 4, at Bridgeport 1
Milwaukee 3, at Grand Rapids 1
Albany 6, at Hershey 5 SO
At Manchester 4, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 SO
At Portland 3, Providence 2
At Lake Erie 3, Peoria 2
Adirondack 5, at Syracuse 2
San Antonio 4, at Chicago 3
Abbotsford 4, at Oklahoma City 2
Houston 5, at Texas 1
Friday
Norfolk 6, at St. John's 2
Rockford 3, at Charlotte 2 SO
At Connecticut 3, Bridgeport 2 OT
San Antonio 5, at Grand Rapids 4 OT
At Manchester 3, Worcester 2 OT
At Portland 3, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2 SO
Springfield 7, at Providence 2
Binghamton 4, at Hamilton 2
At Syracuse 3, Hershey 2 SO
Toronto 2, at Rochester 1
Chicago 6, at Milwaukee 3
At Oklahoma City 4, Abbotsford 1
Texas 3, at Houston 2 OT

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
Saturday
At Florida 5, Greenville 0
At Toledo 5, Reading 3
At South Carolina 3, Gwinnett 2
At Elmira 3, Kalamazoo 2 SO
At Chicago 2, Cincinnati 1
Stockton 3, at Ontario 1
At Colorado 6, Bakersfield 3
Las Vegas 5, at Utah 3
At Idaho 1, Alaska 0 OT
Friday
Greenville 5, at Florida 2
At Cincinnati 3, Reading 2 SO
Kalamazoo 5, at Elmira 3
At Gwinnett 4, South Carollina 2
At Wheeling 3, Trenton 2 OT
At Colorado 3, Bakersfield 0
Las Vegas 5, at Utah 0
Alaska 7, at Idaho 2
Stockton 3, at Ontario 2

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Saturday
At Baie-Comeau 5, Shawinigan 1
At Cape Breton 9, Rouyn-Noranda 4
At Moncton 4, Victoriaville 3
At Gatineau 4, Blainville-Boisbriand 3 OT
At Quebec 6, Halifax 1
Friday
Saint John 2, at Prince Edward Island 1
Victoriaville 6, at Acadie-Bathurst 4
Halifax 2, at Drummondville 1
Val-d'Or 3, at Gatineau 2 SO
Shawinigan 4, at Chicoutimi 3 OT
Quebec 4, at Rimouski 3

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
Saturday
Guelph 5, at Erie 0
Ottawa 3, at Belleville 2
Kingston 6, at Oshawa 5 OT
At Peterborough 3, Windsor 1
At Plymouth 4, Kitchener 3
Sarnia 6, at Saginaw 3
London 7, at Owen Sound 5
Friday
At Sarnia 6, Saginaw 3
At Guelph 4, Oshawa 2
Niagara 5, at Kingston 0
At Kitchener 8, Erie 1
Plymouth 4, at London 1
Barrie 6, at Ottawa 5 OT
At Sault Ste. Marie 7, Brampton 2
At Sudbury 4, Mississauga 3

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Saturday
At Moose Jaw 3, Medicine Hat 2
At Swift Current 5, Brandon 4
At Calgary 7, Prince Albert 1
At Lethbridge 5, Edmonton 2
Saskatoon 2, at Red Deer 1
Kelowna 4, at Prince George 2
Vancouver 2, at Everett 1 SO
At Seattle 6, Portland 3
At Spokane 6, Regina 5 SO
At Tri-City 3, Kamloops 2
Kootenay 8, at Victoria 3
Friday
At Swift Current 6, Moose Jaw 2
At Brandon 6, Medicine Hat 4
At Edmonton 4, Prince Albert 3
At Lethbridge 4, Red Deer 3 SO
Kelowna 3, at Prince George 2
Kamloops 2, at Spokane 1
At Vancouver 11, Victoria 3
Portland 7, at Everett 3
At Seattle 3, Tri-City 0

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE
Saturday
Tri-City 4, at Team USA 1
Green Bay 6, at Muskegon 0
At Youngstown 3, Cedar Rapids 2 OT
Dubuque 4, at Chicago 2
Lincoln 2, at Fargo 0
At Omaha 6, Sioux City 4
Sioux Falls 4, at Des Moines 2
At Waterloo 4, Indiana 2
Friday
Green Bay 4, at Team USA 2
At Muskegon 2, Tri-City 0
At Waterloo 6, Dubuque 3
Des Moines 6, at Omaha 4
Indiana 3, at Cedar Rapids 2 SO
Youngstown 4, at Chicago 1
At Fargo 5, Lincoln 2

NCAA DIVISION I
ATLANTIC HOCKEY
Saturday
At Mercyhurst 2, Bentley 1
At RIT 6, Holy Cross 5
Friday
Army 3, at American International 3 OT
Bentley 0, at Mercyhurst 0 OT
At RIT 2, Holy Cross 0

ECAC
Saturday
At Clarkson 4, Dartmouth 0
At Colgate 4, Princeton 1
At Cornell 4, Quinnipiac 0
At St. Lawrence 4, Harvard 3
Friday
Harvard 3, at Clarkson 2
At Colgate 3, Quinnipiac 1
At Cornell 4, Princeton 0
Dartmouth 3, at St. Lawrence 1

HOCKEY EAST
Saturday
At Boston University 4, New Hampshire 1
At Northeastern 4, Vermont 1
At Massachusetts-Lowell 4, Massachusetts 0
Friday
At Boston University 4, Vermont 3
At Northeastern 5, Providence 2
Maine 2, at Massachusetts 2 OT
At New Hampshire 5, Massachusetts-Lowell 0

CCHA
Saturday
Bowling Green 4, at Miami 4
(BG wins shootout)
At Northern Michigan 2, Michigan State 1
Ferris State 3, at Alaska 2
Ohio State 6, at Michigan 5
Friday
At Miami 4, Bowling Green 0
Michigan State 4, at Northern Michigan 2
At Alaska 2, Ferris State 0
Ohio State 2, at Michigan 1

WCHA
Saturday
Michigan Tech 5, at Alaska-Anchorage 0
North Dakota 5, at Bemidji State 2
At Colorado College 4, Wisconsin 1
Nebraska-Omaha 3, at Denver 3 OT
At Minnesota-Duluth 7, Minnesota State 3
At Minnesota 5, St. Cloud State 0
Friday
At Colorado College 4, Wisconsin 2
At Denver 7, Nebraska-Omaha 3
At St. Cloud State 4, Minnesota 3
At Alaska-Anchorage 3, Michigan Tech 1
At Minnesota-Duluth 5, Minnesota State 2

NONCONFERENCE
Saturday
Brown 1, at Army 1 OT
Lake Superior State 2, at Canisius 2 OT
At Yale 5, Connecticut 3
Friday
At Notre Dame 3, Boston College 2