Don't hate on Duncan Keith

Duncan Keith approaches Jeff Carter to apologize in game 3 between Chicago and Los Angeles, following the slash to the mouth.

Following Duncan Keith's actions in game three of the Western Conference Final on Tuesday night, Brandan Shanahan saw it fitting to suspend the defenceman for one game. Remembering back to 2007, when Chris Simon was suspended 25 games for a two-hand slash on Ryan Hollweg in retaliation, it's incredible to think that Keith's actions only merit a single-game suspension. But nonetheless, the decision has been made, and there's no reason to dwell on how suspension-worthy the slash was in 2013.

Jeff Carter won't get away from the incident free either though, and really shouldn't. Don Cherry couldn't have said it better in Wednesday's edition of Coach's Corner, reminding everyone that if you go looking for trouble, trouble will find you. A slash to the unprotected hand of your opponent is no way to act like a respectful hockey player, and now Carter will always know that (surely the 20 stitches will forever remind him). Perhaps Sean Avery would have performed less cheap shots if he had received a hard slash immediately following, who knows?

Hopefully though, the incident doesn't negatively affect the play of this year's President's Trophy winners. After the Blackhawks learned their lesson in the Detroit series last month, it would be a shame if Keith's suspension cost Chicago the Western Conference Final. A win by the Kings in game four would mean a tied series; essentially proving Chicago's wins in games one and two meaningless. Keith leads Blackhawks defencemen in the playoffs with 10 points; the closest behind him is Johnny Oduya with four...Sounds like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews need to step it up tonight; out of Chicago's 40 goals this postseason, Kane and Toews have three. Ouch...

Now, on a lighter note, let's look back on a less-violent moment in NHL retaliation. In a 2009 match between Boston and Montreal, Andrei Kostitsyn boarded a Bruins player, stopping the play. As Kostitsyn skated past the Boston net, Tim Thomas stood up for his teammate and delivered a hit that left the TD Garden roaring. As you will see, Kostitsyn went looking for trouble, and Tim Thomas found him. No one was seriously hurt, and no suspensions came about. Classic hockey...