Duncan Keith made some questionable comments toward a female reporter this week. (Jimmy Simmons/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

So Duncan Keith is being pilloried as a sexist this morning. Maybe he should be, maybe not. All I know for sure is that he has dealt with scores of female reporters over the course of his eight-year NHL career. The fact that none of them has joined in the public dog pile is telling.

But Keith might get stuck with the tag after the text of his dismissive exchange with Karen Thomson, a reporter with Team 1040 radio in Vancouver, went viral.

Thomson caught up with Keith Monday night after the Hawks were manhandled in Vancouver. Her question about a missed penalty call leading to the Canucks’ third goal might have been off the mark, but it wasn’t unreasonable.

Keith’s response, on the other hand, was the sort of defensive outburst any seasoned reporter has seen dozens of times.

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Ryan Miller was pulled Friday night after some misadventures with the puck and four goals allowed. (Jerome Davis/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• We’ve seen this before, haven’t we? A proud goaltender, waving in mock appreciation as a home crowd serenades him with a Bronx cheer? Yeah, Ryan Miller seemed as tired of the First Niagara Center crowd as they were of him after a couple of brutal goals led to an 8-4 Rangers’ win that ended Buffalo’s playoff hopes. Very easy to see him demanding a trade after that display.

• “Yes sir, just like clockwork, you can count on Brad Richards to record a hat trick once every 896 games.” That’s the great lead from Larry Brooks, writing about the veteran’s first career three-goal game in the rout of the Sabres.

• Like everyone else in Boston, the Penguins experienced an unusual day on Friday.

• It became apparent early on that as long as the manhunt for the bomber continued, the show could not go on in Boston. The postponement and rescheduling of Friday’s game means the Bruins play their final six games in a span of just nine days.

• A struggling Milan Lucic could be benched for today’s rescheduled matinee against the Penguins. That should please Bruins fans who are tired of watching him float through games.

• Mike Heika, who offers as entertaining a read as anybody out there these days, says the Stars were taught a valuable lesson in how to impose your will by the St. Louis Blues on Friday night. They probably would have preferred two points, but that lesson might pay greater dividends down the road.

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Yankee Stadium will feature a bit more ice next season when it plays host to two NHL matchups. (John Iacono/SI)

By Allan Muir

If one outdoor hockey game each year is special, the NHL is banking that six is even better.

Multiple sources are reporting that the New York Rangers will skate in a pair of outdoor games next year at at Yankee Stadium. The Blueshirts will play the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 26 and the New York Islanders on Jan. 29.

The timing might seem odd, but it plays out as a genius act of coat-tailing. With the Super Bowl slated for the following weekend, the largest media contingent of the year will be descending on New York City that week. What better way to fill their downtime–and help promote the sport–than with a pair of hockey spectacles.

The games will complement a burgeoning outdoor schedule that already features the Red Wings and Maple Leafs facing off in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1. Other matches in the works include Pittsburgh vs. Chicago on March 1 at Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, along with the expected return of the Heritage Classic on March 2, when Vancouver will host Ottawa at BC Place. There also are reports that the Los Angeles Kings will to host the Anaheim Ducks at Chavez Ravine on Jan. 25.

You can expect cries of overkill from some corners, but the league is gambling that the public’s appetite for these outdoor spectacles is nowhere close to being sated. Odds are they’re right. You can bet the games will sell out and draw huge numbers on TV.

And that’s why it’s not just the paying public that’s excited by this news. These games will provide the league a chance to soothe any ill will that lingers with sponsors in the wake of the lockout. NBC Sports, the network that invested heavily in the league almost two years ago to the day, will gain five new appointment dates on its schedule. There will be five new title sponsor deals, like the one that’s worked out well for Bridgestone, and five new opportunities for the rest of the league’s affiliates to line their coffers.

We’ll have more as the story develops.

No big gun: Michal Handzus has produced one goal and one assist in 28 games this season. (John Hefti/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

Multiple sources are reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks have acquired veteran center Michal Handzus from the San Jose Sharks.

In return, Chicago sends a 2013 fourth-round draft pick to San Jose.

The Hawks have been looking for help at center all season, but the need was clearly for a second-line pivot after Dave Bolland failed to make an impact in that role. Will Handzus help there? Not a chance.

Remember, this is the player whose role the Sharks hoped to diminish with the acquisition of Scott Gomez. If Gomez is seen as an upgrade, then that tells you all you need to know about what Handzus brings to the table.

So, what’s the appeal? He’s big (6′-4″, 220), he can chip in on the penalty kill and he’s been great on the draw, winning 55.6 percent of the time. That’s appealing to a Chicago team that ranks 18th in the league with a 49.9 winning percentage, but probably not going to terrify any of the other Western Conference contenders.

Handzus, 36, is in the last year of a deal that counts $2.5 million against the cap. The Hawks reassigned Brandon Bollig to clear space on the roster.

For the Sharks to get a fourth-rounder out of him is a win. That’s two for GM Doug Wilson this spring after snatching two second-rounders from the Pens for Douglas Murray.

By Allan Muir

This is one of those stories where the headline pretty much says it all.

The Blackhawks, to their eternal credit, are one of the few teams that still works the Score-O bit during intermissions. In Chicago, it’s a three-person show in between the second and third periods, with the added sizzle that one of the participants tends to be a local celebrity.

This time, the celeb was a bit bigger than a weatherman or a car dealer.

Yep, 1980s TV icon Mr. T, clad in a No. 7 Hawks sweater and an American flag bandana, was the evening’s main event. He whipped the crowd into hysterics typically reserved for a Bieber sighting with a couple of catch phrases (you know the ones), then lined up for his chance at immortal glory.

Utilizing a shooting style that was only slightly less awkward than a Rick Barry free throw, he missed wide left on his first two attempts. But the third? Well, check out the video and see for yourself.

More eyes are on the NHL now, thanks to Jonathan Toews and the streaking Blackhawks. (Robin Alam/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

Say this about the Chicago Blackhawks and their record-smashing streak: they couldn’t have timed it any better.

Coming on the heels of a bitter labor war that turned the NHL into a punchline and almost wiped out the season, this remarkable stretch has been an ongoing public relations gift to the league. It’s like a Russian matryoshka doll in reverse, as each win opens up to reveal the potential for an even bigger one.

The Hawks have brought playoff-caliber hockey to February and March, with every game offering the sweaty-palmed, remote-throwing, superstition-observing, exhilarating experience of postseason play. We haven’t seen anything like it during a regular season in more than 30 years and it’s been absolutely fantastic.

Just like the budding rivalry between rookie sensations Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin that unfolded after the previous lockout wiped out the 2004-05 season, this drama was exactly what the league needed to rebuild its image.

But the NHL wouldn’t be getting half the bang if not for the NBA’s Miami Heat.

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By Allan Muir

I was watching the Edmonton broadcast of the Oilers vs. Blackhawks game the other night when I saw Chicago’s Daniel Carcillo steaming toward Edmonton’s Nail Yakupov.

It looked like CarBomb was going to unload on the rookie, but Yakupov sensed the threat at the last second and ducked, leaving the hard-charging Carcillo to slam face-first into the boards.

“Dodged a bullet there, didn’t he?” I thought.

And that was it.

It wasn’t until the next morning that I heard that Chicago broadcaster Ed Olczyk had taken issue with Yakupov’s decision to avoid a date with the glass.

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The Blackhawks made NHL history after besting the Sharks 2-1 Friday night. (Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Here’s the thing about the record-setting, season-opening 17th straight game with a point claimed tonight by the Chicago Blackhawks. It only really matters if ends up being the last one before a loss.

And the way the Hawks looked Friday night in their methodical 2-1 win over the Sharks, it’s hard to imagine this streak will end any time soon.

Who’s going to stop them? Columbus on Sunday? Edmonton on Monday? Maybe the Eastern Conference can send someone over on Tuesday because at this point it doesn’t look like anyone in the West can stand up to this team.

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The last time the Hawks met the Sharks, Jonathan Toews and Joe Thornton squared off. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)

By Allan Muir

Sharks at Blackhawks: 7:30 CST, NHL Network (US), CSN Chicago, CSN California

The set-up

The Blackhawks can lay claim to the best start in NHL history against the Sharks tonight. Their shootout win over Vancouver on Wednesday gave Chicago a point in 16 straight games and a share of the current mark set in 2006-07 by the Anaheim Ducks. They’ll face a feckless San Jose side that finally snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over St. Louis on Tuesday. After going unbeaten in their first seven games, the Sharks have seen their offense go cold, but they’re coming off two days of practice time that allowed them to work on the power play and at generating chances five-on-five.

This will be the third meeting between these two teams in 18 days, so familiarity may breed contempt. It’ll be worth watching to see if any hostilities carry over from their last get-together, when captains Jonathan Toews and Joe Thornton dropped the gloves.

Keys to the game

• Blackhawks: Get a lead and stomp down hard on the gas pedal. They allowed the Canucks to dictate the pace early on Wednesday, then coasted through the third period after a thoroughly dominant second, ultimately coughing up a point with sloppy play and lazy penalties as the game wore down. They can’t afford to let the Sharks circle and wait for them to let up.

• Sharks: Commit to ugly, goalmouth hockey. There’s no offensive flow on this team right now. They’ve scored two goals or less in regulation in nine of their last 10 games and the power play that propelled their hot start has just two goals to show for its last 42 chances. So forget pretty and fight off the instinct to make that one last pass. Get as many pucks on net as possible and follow them to the crease with grim purpose.

• Probable starting goalies: Ray Emery (6-0-0, 2.27 GAA, .925 save pct.) vs. Antti Niemi (7-2-3, 1.86, .933)

-!

By Allan Muir

I’ve heard it said that the best deal is the one from which neither side walks away completely happy. If that’s the case, then Brendan Shanahan probably came up with the perfect punishment for Jannik Hansen.

Sheriff Shanny handed the Vancouver forward a one-game suspension today for the elbow he threw to the back of Marian Hossa’s head on Tuesday night. He’ll miss Thursday’s meeting with the Stars in Dallas as a result.

It’s an interesting verdict. I was expecting something more severe, maybe in the range of three games. Intentional or not, it was undeniably a head shot delivered against a completely defenseless victim … pretty much the exact element the league says it’s trying to get out of the game.

But I talked to a few people around the league, and most thought there would be no suspension. Former referee Kerry Fraser does a nice job summing up that viewpoint over at TSN.

So this clearly isn’t as cut-and-dry as most situations the Department of Player Safety addresses. But after weighing the evidence, the DOPS ultimately decided Hansen was reckless and handed out the suspension, which means he also forfeits $7,297.30 in salary.

Here’s my problem: the suspension doesn’t seem to match the crime Shanny describes in the video:

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