Posted by Pierre LeBrun
CHICAGO -- Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood didn't play the third period of Game 4 on Sunday. The prevailing thought was that maybe Detroit coach Mike Babcock wanted to protect him in a lopsided game from something stupid happening, but that wasn't the case.
"He was dehydrated," Babcock said. "They had him hooked up to the IVs and it didn't work, or it didn't come back quick enough. We had no option. We'll have a good day off, get the fluids back, go from there."
Havlat hurt again?
Martin Havlat's surprising return from the huge Game 3 hit perhaps was too quick. He barely played in the second half of the game.
"He seemed fine after the game," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "So we'll see how he progresses over the next couple of days. You know, he handled it well coming out of Friday. We'll see."
Seems simply amazing that Havlat could even dress after the way he went down after Niklas Kronwall's hit Friday night.
"Well, Marty was fine," Quenneville said. "He was ready to go. He was flying out there. I thought he had a good start to the game. And, you know, I think he really progressed the last two days, and actually after the game that night.
"So, you know, we did what we could, and he did what he had to do. You know, so we'll see. He's doing all right, too, right now. So we'll see how he is going into Wednesday."
No Nick
I wasn't the only one who was stunned when Nicklas Lidstrom didn't suit up Sunday.
"It was a bit of a shock," veteran Wings forward Kirk Maltby said. "I came over with Cleary, Drapes [Kris Draper] and Ozzie. Dan Cleary said something about it. We thought he was joking at first, but then realized he wasn't. We didn't know anything was wrong. It's something that came up quickly."
Johan Franzen had no idea until closer to game time.
"I'm always the last guy to know," he said. "When I saw Chelly sitting in here [getting dressed], I had to ask him what happened to Nick. I didn't know until right before the game."
Lidstrom shouldn't be out long with his lower-body injury.
"No, short-term," Babcock said. "I hope to see him on Wednesday [for Game 5]."
Pavel Datsyuk (foot) missed his second straight game.
"I hope to see him Wednesday," Babcock said. "And I think now we're starting to get legit here. We thought for a while we might get him today. Now we're thinking that we have a possibility for Wednesday."
Hossa on the board
Marian Hossa finally got going with a pair of goals and an assist. Linemate Valtteri Filppula also was strong with a three-point night (1-2).
"I thought he was awesome today," Babcock said of Hossa. "We needed him to step up today, and he really did. I thought, in particular, his fourth goal put a knife in 'em. He did a great job there. Played big. Was physical. Took the puck to the net. I thought him and Fil were fantastic."
Filppula was bumped up to Hossa's line with Tomas Holmstrom because of Datsyuk's injury.
"Playing with Fil, he's a great skater, can give you the puck any time," Hossa said. "I just knew I just have to drive to the net more often, try to be more dangerous and, you know, play a little more physical. I just have to do that."
Hossa's first goal Sunday was a big one, a short-hander that quieted the crowd. For Hossa, it snapped a six-game goalless drought. He was relieved.
"When you're getting chances and the puck doesn't go in for you, it's a human nature, you start pressing," Hossa said. "So I told myself I just have to play more relaxed, play with my instinct, just keep the thing simple.
"I tried to do that, held the puck a little longer, protect it more often. We got the first one. Always when you get the first one after a few games, it kind of calms you down, then you start feeling it, start being more patient."
Getting to Kronwall
Hawks fans booed Kronwall every time he touched the puck Sunday, and then Hawks players began chasing him around for payback after Friday night's hit on Havlat. Hawks winger Kris Versteeg even challenged Kronwall to a fight.
No thanks, said the Wings blueliner.
Babcock said Chicago's chasing Kronwall around played into Detroit's hands.
"They were busy making amends for [the Havlat hit]," the Wings' coach said. "In the end, we end up on the power play lots, which is beneficial for us."
Huet back in
Cristobal Huet was pulled 4:05 into the second period after Hossa scored to give Detroit a 4-1 lead, but he was back in net for the third period.
"He hasn't played much, that was a part of it," Quenneville said of pulling Corey Crawford and putting Huet back in for the third period. "I wanted to change the momentum in the second. We went about it that way. Then, we wanted to get him some playing time, too, because he hasn't played much. You know, I thought going forward, that can help."
Nikolai Khabibulin [lower body] missed his first start of the playoffs.
"Day-to-day. He's progressing all right," Quenneville said. "You know, we'll see, you know, we're off tomorrow, practice Tuesday. We'll get a better indication of how close he is."
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