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Hossa propels Red Wings past Ducks

Dec 2, 2008 - 4:26 AM DETROIT (Ticker) -- Marian Hossa was surprised - but happy - to see a goaltending change at the start of the third period.

Hossa snapped a tie early in the session and the Detroit Red Wings held on for a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.

"I was surprised to see a different goalie," Hossa said. "I kind of liked that because it's a new guy, stiff from the bench and he's not warmed up, so we tried to shoot right away at him. Maybe squeeze one in and we did."

Johan Franzen also scored and Chris Osgood made 15 saves for the Red Wings, who had lost three of their previous four contests (1-2-1).

Chris Kunitz had the lone goal for the Ducks, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.

After Kunitz gave Anaheim an early lead, Detroit dominated the play. The defending Stanley Cup champions outshot the Ducks by a 47-16 margin.

"If you let the Red Wings play give-and-go hockey, that's what happens," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said.

But the Red Wings had a tough time getting one past Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who finished with 38 saves before leaving after the second period because of cramping.

"We decided after two periods that he had seen enough rubber for one game and not take any chances," Carlyle said.

Franzen finally evened the contest with 5:34 left in the second period, deflecting defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom's shot past the former Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

"It was good to get that first one past him," Franzen said. "It usually takes a goal like that - a redirection, an ugly goal. He was playing real good.

"The more saves he makes, the better he's going to play. As long as you're playing good, you don't get too frustrated - but it's important to get a goal sooner or later."

Hossa did not waste anytime challenging the new goaltender, Jonas Hiller. Hossa fired a quick shot from the left faceoff circle that beat Hiller to the glove side at 1:48 of the third for his 14th goal of the season.

"I just tried to shoot it at the net and I think it surprised the goalie by the five-hole," Hossa said.

Hiller, who turned aside nine shots in the final session, admitted that it was difficult to come in like he did and that he was surprised by Hossa's shot.

"For sure, it's tough," he said. "You can warm up during the period, but you haven't seen any shots since the warmups, which were an hour and a half earlier. You have to refocus. I was expecting a one-timer and I was already down."

Detroit coach Mike Babcock said that his team set a goal of outworking their opponents.

"We said, 'Let's come out prepared to play like we did tonight for 60 minutes,'" he said. "We want to be known as a team that comes to work every night. That's the expectation."