CHICAGO, Ill. – Chicago Blackhawks center Marian Hossa had a big part in the final parts of Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. The Nashville Predators had the lead 4-3 but things looked bleak for the home crowd as Hossa was given a five-minute major for boarding with 1:03 left in regulation. The Predators couldn’t keep the puck in their offensive zone as the puck popped out at center to Jonathan Toews who carried the puck up. The fore-check kept the puck in as Toews fired on net only to have the rebound come out to Patrick Kane who backhanded the puck on the open side past Nashville’s Pekka Rinne to tie the game at four and send it into over time.
In overtime, as Hossa’s penalty expired, he came in to help on the play. He hung around the net as the puck was moving around until it got right on his tape where he took a quick snap shot into the net for the 5-4 game winner. The series now goes to Nashville for Game Six on Monday where the Blackhawks have a chance to advance in the Playoffs.
The scoring started pretty positive for the Predators as they struck first on the board when Steve Sullivan launched the puck in the air over a defender right to David Legwand who in turn fired it to the back of the net past a fully screened Antti Niemi.
Halfway through the period, the Blackhawks knotted the score at a goal apiece. The puck came out to defenseman Brent Seabrook who fired it on net. Rinne floundered in net trying to swat the puck but the rebound came out to Andrew Ladd who scooped the puck in.
At the 14:53 mark, the Blackhawks took the lead for the first time in the period. After almost seven minutes of play, no shots were recorded. But they took one right after as Toews recovered the puck around the boards to gain possession after Rinne couldn’t clear. The pass went out to Kane who collected the puck and sent it back to the blue line to Niklas Hjalmarsson who fired a slap shot to the back of the net.
A funny thing did occur right after the end of the period as Niemi made a save only to have the puck disappear in his equipment. Play was about to resume with the puck somewhere on him but a call to the Officials box was made to the referee for discussion and at that time the puck just popped out on its own.
The fore-checking on both teams was amazing. Chicago finally had folks crashing the net and making plays happen. There stars are finally earning their worth. Hossa was another player that is finally making a mark in the game with his first goal of the postseason. All lines made a difference tonight. The shots had the Blackhawks dominating 32 to 21. But we know that the Predators can do more with less game in and out.
Western Conference Quarterfinals (best-of-7) W2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. W7-Nashville Predators Game 1 – Friday, Apr. 16 – Nashville 4 at Chicago 1 Game 2 – Sunday, Apr. 18 – Nashville 0 at Chicago 2 Game 3 – Tuesday, Apr. 20 – Chicago 1 at Nashville 4 Game 4 – Thursday, Apr. 22 – Chicago 3 at Nashville 0 Game 5 – Saturday, Apr. 24 – Nashville 4 at Chicago 5 (OT) Game 6 – Monday, April 26 – Chicago at Nashville, 8:00 *Game 7 – Wednesday, Apr. 28 – Nashville at Chicago, TBD
Chicago leads Series 3-2
Contact Matt.Chin@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.