CHICAGO - Forget Patrick Kanes flashy moves and Jonathan Toews steady play. 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." China Jerseys 2020 . Specifically, thumbs up to the Canadian-based teams in the NHL, or at least most of them. Cheap Jerseys 2020 . - A lot of scenarios ran through Terrell Suggs head when the Baltimore linebacker prepared to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. https://www.cheapjerseysfromchinareview.com/ . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. China NFL Jerseys . Hollis-Jefferson went 5-for-6 from the field and added six rebounds, while Stanley Jefferson contributed 14 points for the Wildcats, who used their trademark tough defense to dominate the games final 24 minutes and advance to Tuesdays winners bracket matchup with Kansas State. Authentic Jerseys 2020 .The Canadian teenage golf sensation announced Thursday shell join the LPGA Tour in 2015 instead of attending the University of Florida.SOCHI, Russia - FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said Friday a boycott of the 2018 World Cup in Russia would be nonsense.Some European politicians have suggested that European countries could boycott the World Cup over the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which many Western governments accuse Russia of provoking.During a visit to Sochi, Valcke said talk of a boycott was an attempt to provoke discord rather than to be realistic on what the world is today.He added: I hope that the world will understand and recognize that the World Cup is a sporting event and there is nothing to do with politics and should not be used as a political tool . by any groups.Valcke spoke after meeting with Russian World Cup organizers in Sochi to examine the state of preparations for the tournament.Hes the first senior FIFA official to visit Russia since last weeks publication of a report by FIFA ethics judge Joachim Eckert that closed the probe of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests.Eckerts report was a summary of a longer report by FIFA investigator Michael Garcia, who has accused Eckerts summary of misrepresenting his findings.Eckert judged that any corrupt acts did nott justify re-opening the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.ddddddddddddFIFA defended a decision by Eckert and Garcia to provide full copies of Garcias report to FIFAs audit and compliance committee chairman, Domenico Scala, who may then release details to FIFAs executive committee next month.Now there will be more information given to the executive committee members and its a good thing, Valcke said.Several current and former members of the executive committee have themselves been accused of improper behaviour during the World Cup bidding process.Also Friday, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, who chairs the organizing committee for the 2018 World Cup, vowed that fans would not face travel problems despite the large distances between some of the 11 host cities.The easternmost city, Yekaterinburg, is 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometres) from Sochi in the south and almost 1,550 miles (2,500km) from Kaliningrad in the west.The flight to Yekaterinburg from (Sochi) is two hours long and to St.Petersburg from here is a three hours flight. These are the longest distances, Mutko said. So, in general for fans it will be very convenient. ' ' '