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Kings’ game-day skate: Doughty and Keith have a mutual admiration society; Ivanans in Kings’ lineup

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Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith has blossomed into one of the best two-way players at his position, so it’s worth noting his praise of Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, his partner on Canada’s Olympic gold medal hockey team.

‘It was a lot of fun playing with him. He’s an unbelievable player, especially for how young he is,’ Keith said Wednesday after the Blackhawks’ morning skate at the United Center.

‘People see how good he is but forget how young he is at 20 years old and it was a pleasure getting to play with him. I was learning some things from him.’

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What did Keith, who will be 27 in July and is in his fourth NHL season, learn from Doughty, who is completing his second season?

‘He’s so relaxed for such a young age and to see him, how relaxed he was in the Olympics, where it’s a high-pressure situation, he really handled that like a wily veteran,’ Keith said. ‘He’s a good guy too. I got along with him real well.’

But not so well that he’d give up a chance to hit Doughty Wednesday night if the circumstances called for it during the Blackhawks-Kings game.

If the chance is there, ‘you’ve got to take it. Obviously you’re not going to try and hurt anyone,’ Keith said. ‘He’s a good player but we’re on the other team now and I’ve got to play hard.’

Doughty was surprised and flattered to hear Keith’s compliments.

‘I think that’s interesting. I don’t know what he could have learned from me. It was more so me learning from him,’ Doughty said.

‘When you’re playing with a good player like that, not that I haven’t here, playing with Rob Scuderi,’ Doughty said, speaking just loud enough for next-locker neighbor Scuderi to hear him. ‘He made it real easy to play with him. After the first game we kind of get used to what we did and developed that chemistry and from there it was pretty easy. Just give him the puck and he’ll do the work, or if he gave me the puck I’d try to do the work. So it was real easy to play with him. I thought we did well defensively and offensively.’

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Doughty said Keith’s observations about him being relaxed were pretty close to the truth.

‘I felt a little nervous going into the first game but after my first shift I was fine. And obviously going into overtime for the gold medal game it’s pretty hard not to be nervous for that one,’ Doughty said. ‘Again, after a couple of shifts you’re fine and it’s just another game.

‘But he seemed pretty relaxed too. I think that’s one thing that a lot of really good players have. In pressure situations they play better and I think that on Team Canada we had a lot of pressure on us and we didn’t feel it.’

Wednesday night’s game against the Blackhawks, who are enjoying a rebirth on the ice and at the box office after years of bad management and neglect toward their fans, should be a good test for the Kings. The Blackhawks, after hitting bottom but making good use of the draft picks that come with lowly finishes, last season made the playoffs for the first time since 2002. The Kings, finally reaping the rewards of years of prime draft picks, are just about sure of reaching postseason play this spring for the first time since 2002.

The Blackhawks will provide a measuring stick for the Kings to gauge their own progress Wednesday night and Doughty sees their successful turnaround and development into an elite team as a model for what the Kings hope to become.

‘I do look at them that way,’ he said. ‘I know they were in last place a couple years ago when they drafted Pat Kane first overall. That’s one thing we can really shoot for.

‘We’re in the building process and I think we’ve got a really good team this year. I think we’ve got a team that can make the playoffs and go deep in the playoffs, I think. I’m looking forward to next year as well. I think we should have a really strong team.’

They’ll have an aggressive team Wednesday night.

In response to the Blackhawks regaining agitator Adam Burish, who tore up his knee in a preseason game, Kings Coach Terry Murray said he will have tough guys Raitis Ivanans and Richard Clune in the lineup. They will play on either side of center Jeff Halpern.

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‘This is a pretty intense building to play in. I know they have a couple of guys that are physical, play heavy, play hard. They do their job well,’ Murray said. ‘And we put Raitis in to give us a bit of a comfort zone tonight.’

The starting goalie for Chicago will be Antti Niemi, who has played 24 games to 46 for Cristobal Huet but will get a chance to win the starting job for the playoffs. ‘It’s almost like tryouts to see who’s going to take that No. 1 job,’ Kane said.

The game will be delayed a few minutes while the Blackhawks, who have repaired the many broken relationships they had with former players, honor Denis Savard for a spectacular career that got him elected to the Hall of Fame in 2000. Congratulations to the man who perfected the Spinorama!

More later at www.latimes.com/sports

-- Helene Elliott in Chicago

Photo: Drew Doughty. Credit: Ed Mulholland / US Presswire

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