Chicago's Hossa in Finals for third year in a row
CHICAGO - In the days leading up to the Stanley Cup Finals, teammates just had to ask Marian Hossa: Are you nervous? If any Chicago Blackhawks player had a right to be heading into this series against the Philadelphia Flyers, he did.
After all, he had been there the past two years with Pittsburgh and Detroit - and lost - and during the layoff, he couldn't avoid the rush from his teammates.
"We asked him, 'Are you more nervous about this one now? Third time's gotta be the charm, right Hoss?' " winger Adam Burish said. "He's like, 'I'm not even nervous, guys. It's almost like I don't get nervous now.' "
The first player to reach the Stanley Cup Finals three straight years with three different teams, Hossa has a unique hat trick. This time, he's looking for a different outcome.
The Blackhawks are looking to end their 49-year championship drought and were off to a good start with a 1-0 lead heading into Game 2 last night, after a wild 6-5 series-opening win that included assists by Hossa on Troy Brouwer's two goals.
"It is a really interesting situation," Hossa said. "Really unique."
The title quest has been driving him, all the way from Pittsburgh to Detroit and Chicago the past few years. He keeps coming close.
He was right there two years ago with Pittsburgh after being dealt from Atlanta at the deadline, shedding his reputation as a playoff underachiever while helping Sidney Crosby and the Penguins reach the Finals.
Hossa scored a team-leading 12 goals during that run, cutting Detroit's lead to one with 87 seconds left in Game 6 and nearly tying it in the closing seconds when he swiped at Crosby's backhander from alongside the right post. The puck went across the crease but not in the net, and the Red Wings prevailed.
Then they got a discount from Hossa. He signed a one-year, $7.45-million deal with Detroit even though the Penguins were offering $7 million a season as part of a five-year contract, hoping the cut rate would lead to a title payoff. Instead, the net gain was about the same.
Hossa scored 40 goals for the Red Wings in the regular season but just six in the playoffs while battling a shoulder injury that required surgery after he signed with Chicago - and this time, Detroit came up short against Pittsburgh in the Finals.
Then he was on the move again. Only this time, he didn't come at a discount.
One of the league's most prolific scorers the past decade, Hossa signed a 12-year, $62.8-million contract with Chicago last July and essentially replaced points leader Martin Havlat on a young, athletic team that was re-energizing a jilted fan base.
