Duncan Keith has played well alongside Niklas Hjalmarsson since the duo were paired up over a month ago. Keith had played with Brent Seabrook for most of the last nine seasons but coach Joel Quenneville wanted to change the pairings so Seabrook got a new partner in Nick Leddy while Keith and Hjalmarsson were matched up. "I played with 'Hammer' one time," Keith said Saturday. "We were joking around about that. I think it was one game in San Jose, so that's once out of (all or parts of) six seasons, but we played good together that game. For me it's easy to play with him. He chips the puck out, gets it in, it's real simple. I think the fact he likes to stay home allows me the confidence to get up in the play, knowing he's gonna be back. It's not that hard. You just read off of each other. Defense is one position where it's all about positioning."