CHICAGO - Forget Patrick Kanes flashy moves and Jonathan Toews steady play. Nike Air Max 90 Norge . Same for the rest of the talented forwards on the Chicago Blackhawks. Instead, check out the players who line up right behind the teams biggest stars. Chicagos athletic defencemen play a prominent role in the NHLs most potent offence. Duncan Keith leads all NHL defencemen with 30 assists. Niklas Hjalmarsson is on pace for career highs in goals and assists. Brent Seabrook has three goals and 23 assists after he had 20 points in 47 games last season. Nick Leddy and Johnny Oduya also have provided valuable support on offence. Its hard enough for teams to deal with the likes of Kane and Toews. Now, when Keith & Co. are coming up and taking aim, the Blackhawks turn into a goaltenders nightmare. "I love our defence. Theyve been huge for us the past two seasons," forward Patrick Sharp said. "They all skate well. They all move the puck and with the forwards that we have in our locker room, we like to get it with speed and they do a good job of getting it to us. Our defence (has) been the key to our team this year." The importance of Chicagos offensive defencemen was on full display Monday night, when the Blackhawks beat the New Jersey Devils 5-2 for their sixth win in the last eight games. Leddy helped set up Kanes tiebreaking goal in the second period, and then capped the scoring with his fifth of the season in the third. Seabrook added two assists. It was the Blackhawks 15th game with at least five goals, running their league-best total to 145. They also lead the NHL with an average of 2.87 points a game by their defencemen, according to STATS, a significant increase from their 2.08 average for last seasons Stanley Cup-winning team. St. Louis, which hosts Chicago on Saturday night, is next on the list with 2.64 points a game for its defencemen and 128 goals overall. "I think as a defence corps you know that its important that we help control the offensive goal, not just necessarily scoring points but just being in on the attack and being an extra option that might create some space for our forwards," said Keith, who also had an assist against the Devils. Keith is one of the top contenders for the Norris Trophy after he took home the award for the NHLs top defenceman in 2010. The 30-year-old Keith, who was selected by the Blackhawks in the second round of the 2002 draft, has led the team in ice time every season since he made his debut in 2005. He plays alongside Seabrook in Chicagos top defensive pairing. "The two of them have been together basically since they broke into the league," said coach Joel Quenneville, a former NHL defenceman. "Thats been a big part of our team. When you think about all the shifts theyve played together, theres a lot of familiarity with one another and I think they complement each other for the right reasons." That familiarity is a common theme when it comes to the Blackhawks defencemen. Seabrook, a first-round draft pick by Chicago in 2003, had two of the Blackhawks biggest goals in their run to the title last season. He scored in overtime in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals against Detroit after Chicago battled back from a 3-1 series deficit, and then had another overtime winner in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals at Boston. Hjalmarsson also was drafted by the Blackhawks and is in his seventh season with the team. The 22-year-old Leddy, a 2009 first-round selection by Minnesota, was acquired in a trade in 2010 and has played for Chicago for four seasons. Oduya came over in a February 2012 trade with Winnipeg. "Youre with a group or a linemate or a defence partner for a certain amount of time, you develop that chemistry on the ice and even off the ice," Keith said. "You become more familiar with one another and closer. I just think it helps the overall game on the ice knowing what guys tend to do out on the ice and what they want to do." The Blackhawks (26-7-6) also have done a strong job of finding the right players for their system, which emphasizes puck possession. The eight defencemen on Chicagos roster range in height from 6-foot (Leddy and Oduya) to 6-3 (Seabrook and Hjalmarsson) and weight from 190 pounds for Oduya to 221 for Seabrook. The top defencemen are all strong skaters who are comfortable with the puck on their stick and can cover a lot of ground in a hurry. "The style of play fits the player and the player fits style of play," Oduya said. "I think thats important." Nike Air Max Thea Dame .Y. - Centre Corban Knight scored 3:30 into overtime, and the Abbotsford Heat rallied to edge the Utica Comets 5-4 on Wednesday in American Hockey League play. Nike Free 5.0 Herre . He named former Flame forward Craig Conroy and former Hockey Canada executive Brad Pascall as his new assistant general managers Friday. LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Quarterback Jay Cutler looks just about ready to play for the Chicago Bears. For linebacker Lance Briggs, the wait might go on. Coach Marc Trestman is optimistic Cutler will return from an ankle injury this week against the Cleveland Browns. He was set to work with the receivers after Wednesdays walkthrough, and Trestman said the Bears will know Thursday if hes ready to start. "Were not going to let it hang through the week," he said. "The starter tomorrow has got to get the work. So well make that decision tomorrow." Cutler has missed the past four games with a high left ankle sprain and also sat out one with a groin injury. Veteran Josh McCown has played well in his place, but the Bears have repeatedly said they will go with Cutler once hes ready. Briggs, meanwhile, has missed the past six games because of a broken shoulder, and the odds that hell suit up against the Browns appear slim. Briggs return would be a huge lift for an injury-ravaged defence that cant stop the run. He was expected to sit out about six weeks after he was injured against Washington on Oct. 20, but the recovery has stretched longer. The Bears clearly miss him. Their defence ranks 27th overall and last against the run, and theyve allowed 198 yards rushing or more in five of the past seven games. "Its not just the intangibles that he brings in terms of leadership and experience and things like that, in confidence," defensive co-ordinator Mel Tucker said. "But he can actually make plays. He can win one-on-one; he can get off blocks. He can run ssideline to sideline. Nike Air Force 1 Low Dame. He can win one-on-one on running backs on blitzes and things like that. Hes an excellent blitzer. "In the pass game, hes quick, very instinctive. Hes quick to diagnose and because of ... his experience, theres not a whole lot of plays he hasnt seen at some point in time." Whether the Bears have missed Cutler is open to debate, the way McCown is playing. With a 109.8 rating in seven games, McCown trails only Philadelphias Nick Foles (120) and Denvers Peyton Manning (114.5), and his performance in Mondays romp over Dallas might have been his best yet. He became the first player in franchise history with three straight 300-yard passing games, throwing for 348 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. He also ran for one, getting spun like a helicopter as he leaped into the end zone, and the Bears scored on their first eight possessions to jump back into the playoff race. Theyre tied with Detroit for the NFC North lead at 7-6, although the Lions swept them for the tiebreaker, and there have been some calls for the Bears to stick with the hot hand at quarterback. After all, McCown has thrown for more than 1,800 yards and completed nearly 67 per cent of his passes. He has 13 touchdowns and just one interception, but Cutlers numbers arent shabby, either. Hes thrown for just over 1,900 yards, and his 88.4 rating is the highest since he arrived from Denver before the 2009 season. The message the past few weeks has been consistent. Trestman and McCown have repeatedly said Cutler will start when hes ready. It could be this week. cheap nfl jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
