Turning Point of Game 4
Hossa's shorthanded goal was a devastating blow to the Hawks
Sunday, 05.24.2009 / 6:47 PM
/ News
By Christy Hammond
- Community Relations Manager
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CHICAGO -- Detroit opened the scoring with a shorthanded 2-on-1 opportunity. Valtteri Filppula made a slick pass over Cam Barker’s stick to Marian Hossa, who then beat Chicago netminder Cristobal Huet at 8:41 in the first frame.
“We were able to get a shorthanded goal, which was a killer,” defenseman Brian Rafalski said. “Emotionally, it gives us a big lift. It brings them down a little bit.”
For Chicago, who felt they had momentum before Hossa’s first goal, the shorthanded tally was a frustrating development. “You lose a lot of momentum on plays like that,” Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville said.
With captain Nicklas Lidstrom, star forward Pavel Datsyuk, and faceoff wizard Kris Draper out of the game due to injury, a huge shorthanded marker from Hossa showed that Detroit’s big guns came to play tonight.
“But as far as Nick and Pav, we just have a lot of depth,” Rafalski said. “Hoss had a great game, stepped up. Fil had a great game, Z, obviously Mule, everyone contributed.”
Filppula and Hossa would team up for two more tallies in the second period as the Red Wings snagged a 5-1 lead heading into the second intermission. Hossa’s second marker proved to be a devastating blow to Chicago when he scored a mere 12 seconds after the Blackhawks’ only goal of the contest.
“Hoss once again came up huge for us when we needed him,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said.
Hossa finished the game with an assist, two goals, and three hits in 17:07 of ice time. “I just knew I had to drive to the net more often, be dangerous, and play more physical,” Hossa said.
“We were able to get a shorthanded goal, which was a killer,” defenseman Brian Rafalski said. “Emotionally, it gives us a big lift. It brings them down a little bit.”
For Chicago, who felt they had momentum before Hossa’s first goal, the shorthanded tally was a frustrating development. “You lose a lot of momentum on plays like that,” Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville said.
With captain Nicklas Lidstrom, star forward Pavel Datsyuk, and faceoff wizard Kris Draper out of the game due to injury, a huge shorthanded marker from Hossa showed that Detroit’s big guns came to play tonight.
“But as far as Nick and Pav, we just have a lot of depth,” Rafalski said. “Hoss had a great game, stepped up. Fil had a great game, Z, obviously Mule, everyone contributed.”
Filppula and Hossa would team up for two more tallies in the second period as the Red Wings snagged a 5-1 lead heading into the second intermission. Hossa’s second marker proved to be a devastating blow to Chicago when he scored a mere 12 seconds after the Blackhawks’ only goal of the contest.
“Hoss once again came up huge for us when we needed him,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said.
Hossa finished the game with an assist, two goals, and three hits in 17:07 of ice time. “I just knew I had to drive to the net more often, be dangerous, and play more physical,” Hossa said.
