2009 Stanley Cup playoffs: Shorthanded champs still go up 3-1

Hossa

How many superstar players have to leave the Detroit Red Wings’ lineup before they can be beaten? The Detroit depth that’s the envy of the Boston Bruins and 28 other teams in the NHL was in full display again yesterday, as the defending Stanley Cup champs routed Chicago, 6-1, in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals despite playing without Hart Trophy finalist Pavel Datsyuk and Norris Trophy finalist Nicklas Lidstrom.

While Lidstrom’s absence shocked most of his teammates, it didn’t stop Marian Hossa and Henrik Zetterberg from going out and scoring two goals each en route to the win that put the Wings up 3-1 in the series with Game 5 slated for Detroit Wednesday.

The young Blackhawks reacted completely wrong to Niklas Kronwall’s hit on Martin Havlat from Game 3, as they racked up more than 50 penalty minutes, including a handful of roughing calls. Head coach Joel Quenneville tried to distract attention from his team’s poor play by complaining about one particular roughing call near the end of the first period, but the fact is the ‘Hawks just played a frustrated game from start to finish and now they’re backed against the wall. Even a brief appearance by Havlat couldn’t inspire Chicago to get back to the things that made it successful in Game 3 and during the first two round.

Maybe Hossa and Zetterberg should join Datsyuk and Lidstrom on the sidelines for Game 5 just so we could really see how many tests Detroit’s depth can pass. It probably wouldn’t stop them from punching their ticket to the Cup final.