Blackhawks offense misses injured Hossa
BOSTON The Chicago Blackhawks lost one of their top scorers minutes before the puck dropped in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday. And the night just got worse from there.
Right wing Marian Hossa, who is tied with Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane for the team lead in scoring this postseason with 15 points, was a lastminute scratch because of an injury. Coach Joel Quennville would not say when Hossa was hurt or what ailed him. “We’ll say day-to-day. We’re hopeful he’ll be ready for the next game,” he said.
Ben Smith, a 24-year-old winger who hadn’t appeared in a game for the Blackhawks since April 27, replaced Hossa in the lineup. However, it became clear early on that Chicago sorely missed its top-line winger, as the Boston Bruins cruised to a 2-0 win and a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series.
The Blackhawks continued to struggle on the power play, finishing the night 0-for-5 on the man advantage, with Hossa’s usual linemates — Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad — combining for five shots on net.
Chicago is 0-for-11 on the power play through three games and 7for-62 (11.3%) in the playoffs.
“We just have got to have that mentality that it’s five-on-five out there and we’ve got to work together,” Toews said. “Guys without the puck maybe aren’t supporting the guy with the puck well enough, and we’re just kind of watching.
“With the ice being a little bit chippy, sometimes pucks are going to bounce, and they’re keying on that. We don’t have two, three guys helping the puck carrier out.”
After scoring 23 goals during the regular season, Toews, who finished Monday’s game with four shots on net, has one score this postseason.
After Bruins winger Kaspars Daugavins was called for roughing at the 9:57 mark in the first, Chicago failed to register a shot on goal. And when Shawn Thornton was sent to the box for roughing a little over four minutes later, it was more of the same.
The best scoring chance that came out of the Thornton roughing call be- longed to the Bruins’ Chris Kelly, whose short-handed bid from right in front of the Blackhawks net had to be turned away by Corey Crawford (33 saves).
In the second period, things continued to trend in the wrong direction for the Blackhawks. Boston outshot Chicago 15-8 in the frame and emerged from the period with a 2-0 lead after goals by Daniel Paille and Patrice Bergeron.
Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask stopped all 27 shots he faced and was excellent at controlling his rebounds, rarely allowing the Blackhawks second-chance opportunities.
“I think we were just shooting to his glove a little bit too much,” Toews said. “He’s going to gobble it up, and there’s not going to be any rebounds. So that’s one little easy thing we can correct right there.”
Rask has not allowed a goal since the 11:22 mark in the first period of Game 2 — a span of 123:26.
“(Rask) has a lot of confidence, and they’re playing well around him,” Toews said. “We’ve just got be better and work harder for those loose pucks. We’ve done it before, and we’ll find a way to do it now.”