NHL-Blackhawks' Keith out 4-6 weeks after knee surgery

Oct 20 (Reuters) - Three-times Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith is expected to be sidelined between four and six weeks after having knee surgery on Tuesday, the National Hockey League team said. Keith, a three-times All-Star who won Olympic gold with Canada at both the 2010 and 2014 Winter Games, had a procedure to repair a meniscal tear in his right knee. "The surgery was successful and we expect him to return to full hockey activities in approximately 4-6 weeks," the Blackhawks said in a statement. One of the NHL's most durable players, the 32-year-old has two assists in six games this season while ranking 17th in the league in average ice time at 24:21 per game. Keith, who was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy in June as the most valuable player during the Stanley Cup playoffs, has never missed more than eight games in a season during his 11-year career. The Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks have made an erratic start to this season and sit sixth in the Western Conference's seven-team Central Division standings with a 3-3-0 record. (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)