Was this the dirtiest play of this NHL season?

Perhaps the most shocking thing about this play is who committed the act.

In what has to be among the dirtiest plays of the season, if not the dirtiest, Chicago Blackhawks star defenseman Duncan Keith swung his stick, deliberately, in an attempt to slash an opposing play in the face and head area. Thankfully Keith was on his back at the time, and it appears he was not able to get his full momentum behind the swing, but nonetheless it was a significant blow, enough to bust open the face of Minnesota Wild forward Charlie Coyle.

The Wild have flat out owned the Blackhawks over their last several meetings, and likely Keith's frustrations got the best of him in this scenario, and this certainly has to be considered something that is out of character for him. Nonetheless that does not justify what is effectively slashing your opponent in the head, and regardless of his status as a star player these actions from Keith are simply disgraceful.

One has to imagine this is going to cost Keith some games, although as of this writing no official announcement from the National Hockey League has been made in that regard just yet.

[pub]