"It was late in Duncan Keith's rookie season when the Blackhawks defenseman suffered through a miserable game, finishing with a minus-5 plus/minus rating.

That game on April 13, 2006 against the Red Wings when he was on the ice for five even-strength goals is a distant memory, further faded after an NHL All-Star Game appearance and a Norris Trophy-winning season that helped the Hawks win their first Stanley Cup in 49 years.

Since that minus-5, Keith never had been worse than a minus-3 — until this season when he has been minus-4 twice —including during Monday night's 7-5 loss to the Avalanche in Colorado.

At a team-worst minus-11 entering Wednesday night's rematch against the Avalanche at the United Center, Keith has been very un-Keith-like at times this season as he and the Hawks have been unable to reach the consistency they had a season ago.

"We have a different team this year," Keith said. "Everybody has to realize that it's not one guy who makes a difference in the whole team. It's everybody working together. I feel like the last 15 games I've been fine."

Keith was a minus-6 the 15 games before Wednesday, with Monday's rough night inflating that figure.

"It's a different group of guys," Keith reiterated. "We play differently. That's not necessarily a bad thing — it's a good thing. We've been talking about this for a while now, it seems, but that's the way it is.

"I feel good," added Keith, who was a plus-21 last season. "… Right where I want to be, thinking about defense. Sometimes things happen out there you can't control.""