The applause for former Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith’s return to the United Center on Thursday — customarily celebrated with a welcome-back video at the first TV timeout — carried on for so long that Keith eventually left the Oilers’ bench to take a small lap on the ice.
Minutes earlier, Keith and Hawks captain Jonathan Toews playfully had fought over a ceremonial puck drop conducted by former Hawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson — an even bigger blast from the past.
