Detroit leaves Windy City with a commanding 3-1 series lead.

The Hawks face a serious uphill battle after a crushing 6-1 loss at the hand of the Red “hot” Wings in Game 4 of the Western Conference final.

By Bryan Mongeau-Eastmond, staff writer

DETROIT (RPRN) 5/25/2009- In a series that matches youth versus experience, we are seeing that the advantage clearly swings in favor of the latter. Yes, veteran leadership paired with a profound understanding of the game will overpower an offense infused with not only youth, but a high level of energy as well.

The “old guys” on the Detroit Red Wings exemplify this. After a convincing 6-1 win over the Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon, the Wings can wrap things up Wednesday night in the Motor City and clinch a spot in the finals for the second straight year.

It was probably one of their best game games of the playoffs as far as scoring chances are concerned. Detroit unleashed its high powered offense on goalie Cristobal Huet, who never really stood a chance. After getting the call that he would get the start for an injured Nikolai Khabibulin, Huet looked shaky allowing five goals.

Wing’s Marian Hossa and Henrik Zetterberg exploited that weakness and scored twice in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

“I thought [Zetterberg] had great leadership, I thought Hossa had an unbelievable game, the back end was solid and we got good goaltending. We had a lot of poise early and they never got going,” said Wings’ coach Mike Babcock.

The win was especially impressive considering the defending champs were without the services of captain Niklas Lidstrom and Kris Draper sidelined with injuries.

Starting goaltender Chris Osgood, left after the second period with the score 5-1 because of dehydration said Babcock in the press conference. He also added that his star keeper is expected to start in Game 5.

After their most lopsided loss of the playoffs, reaching the Stanley Cup finals may be a very remote possibility for the young Blackhawks. It seems rather unlikely that the defending champs will overlook a wounded hockey club competing for Lord Stanley’s Mug.

SERIES STATUS: RED WINGS LEAD SERIES, 3-1
GAME 5: CHI @ DET, WED MAY 27, 7:30PM

Series Recap:
• GAME 1: DET 5, CHI 2
• GAME 2: DET 3, CHI 2 (OT)
• GAME 3: CHI 4, DET 3 (OT)
• GAME 4: DET 6, CHI 1 |

Photo of Detroit’s Marian Hossa celebrating with teammates courtesy of the National Hockey League.

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