Giving up a three goal lead and losing your #1 goalie would be enough to put most teams down for the count. The Blackhawks fought past that to win game three and cut Detroit’s lead in the series in half. Now they have the momentum for game four but had to win without Nikolai Khabibulin. But Detroit was without Nick Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk for game four as well. With both teams without some of their stars, it would be a test of depth to determine the winner.

Detroit 6 @ Chicago 1 – Missing stars the calibre of Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom would be enough for most teams to give up and look ahead to the next game. Most teams couldn’t survive with their two best players. Then again, most teams aren’t the Detroit Red Wings. On the road and without their best men, the Wings put on a clinic and sit one win away from a return trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.

It took almost nine minutes for the scoring to open but it did in spectacular fashion. Marian Hossa stole the puck on the penalty kill and went in two-on-none with Valtteri Filppula. After a give-and-go, Hossa put it by Cristobal Huet, who didn’t have a chance on that play, to give Detroit a 1-0 lead. Detroit wouldn’t score again until 21 second left in the frame when Johan Franzen took the puck on an end-to-end rush and zinged it by Huet for a two-goal lead.

Things only got worse for the home side in the second. Filppula picked up a Hossa rebound and slammed it into the open cage to make it 3-0 for the Wings. Chicago would finally get on the board when Captain Serious Jonathan Toews backhanded home a rebound on the power play to cut the lead back down to two. They were still celebrating the Chicago goal when, 12 seconds later, Marian Hossa crashed the party. He powered his way down the right wing, cut into the slot and slid it by Huet for his second of the game. That marked what looked like the end for Huet. Corey Crawford relieved his French counterpart for his first appearance of the season in any game action. That only stopped the bleeding for three-and-a-half minutes. Detroit took advantage of a five-on-three when Henrik Zetterberg has all the time in the world at the side of the net with the puck and backhanded it up high over Crawford to make it 5-1.

In the third, it was Detroit’s turn to use their backup goalie. Ty Conklin was given his first action of the post-season so Chris Osgood would have some well deserved time off. Huet returned to play the final twenty minutes of the game. Unfortunately for Huet, things weren’t much better for him than the first go around. Facing nine shots, he only let in one. Henrik Zetterberg wristed a rebound by Huet on a five-on-four power play to make it a five goal game. Coincidentally, on both goals Zetterberg was assisted by Rafalski and Kronwall.

It was a good day for Detroit’s goaltenders. Osgood made 18 saves on 19 shots while Conklin stopped all nine shots he faced. Things weren’t so pretty at the home end of the rink. Crawford turned aside six of the seven shots he saw. Huet had a night to forget. He stopped 13 of 17 shots in his first 24 minutes of actions and 8 of 9 in the third period.

It wasn’t pretty for Chicago. After looking like they were back in this series, they showed their youth and inexperience once again. Just because the Big Red Machine is missing its two biggest parts doesn’t mean that it’s broken. Give credit to the Wings. Most teams don’t have the depth to fight past the loss of their two best players. Then again, most teams aren’t the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Detroit leads the series 3-1

Three Stars of the Night:
1. Marian Hossa (Detroit)
2. Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit)
3. Valtteri Filppula (Detroit)

Tuesday’s Schedule:
Pittsburgh at Carolina – Pittsburgh leads the series 3-0 (TV: CBC, Versus)