Drew Stafford hit on Duncan Keith last night (Jan 14)

With his head down and drifting towards the middle of the ice, Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith (2008 All-Star) got clobbered by Sabres winger Drew Stafford last night at the United Center. The hit knocked Keith silly and he had to be helped to the bench by an official as play continued.

The Blackhawks, most notably Ben Eager, were understandably upset and Eager went after Stafford later on in the same play resulting in his team being down a man for the next six minutes.

Chicago killed the six-minute Buffalo power play and any hopes of a Sabres' comeback. In fact, the Hawks limited Buffalo to one shot on goal in those six minutes and had the better scoring chances themselves.

Ben Eager was still fuming after the game and expressed his position on the Stafford hit to the Daily Herald:

"It's a dirty hit regardless if it's a shoulder - it's shoulder right to
head and it's defenseless," Eager said. "That guy probably has two hits all year. That team has been through it before and they should know better.

"I just thought it was a dirty play. I'm sure nothing will come of it because it was a skilled guy that hit him, but we'll see what they do."

Stafford had a different interpretation of the collision:

"I hope he's OK, but you've got to keep your head up if you're going to make a play like that," Stafford said.

For the record, the hit on Keith was Stafford's 32nd of the season, 10th most on the Sabres as he averages less than a hit a game. He did however get credited with a hit on Hawks' defenseman James Wisniewski earlier in the same shift.

I've viewed the play many times now on tape. Seeing it live in person it looked to be a clean shoulder-to-shoulder check. Stafford's left tricep actually collides with Keith's right shoulder pad and glances off the side of his head in continuation of the hit. Nothing about this hit is dirty.

Stafford lines Keith up at the last second when Keith drifts to the slot with the puck to attempt a shot. Stafford merely does his job taking the body. If Stafford pulls up and allows Keith to take that shot uncontested, he catches hell from Lindy Ruff when he gets back to the bench. That's hockey.

The point of contact is tricep to shoulder. Stafford's reflex reaction after the collision could lead you to believe he also gave, or attempted to give, Keith an elbow to the head. But Stafford's motion is deceiving. Keith's head snaps back as a result of the contact.

See for yourself.