Blackhawks' Hossa nets goal, helper in return from injury

Originally published November 22, 2013

Chicago Blackhawks' coach Joel Quenneville showed no surprise at star forward Marian Hossa's high level of play we he returned to the ice in Winnipeg on Thursday night after missing three games with the always ambiguous "Lower body injury".

“That is one thing about Hos, he plays the right way,” said a beaming Quenneville after the game. “He is very consistent, predictable and you expect him to play that way game-in, game-out, and he didn’t miss a beat.”

Hossa logged over 17 minutes of ice time and scored the eventual game-winning goal in the Blackhawks' rousing victory over the Jets at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg Manitoba, also assisting on Bandon Saad's seventh goal of the season in the second period.

The plan to ease Hossa back into the pace of the Blackhawks' up-tempo attack fell by the wayside as it appeared that the two-way player was already back at full strength and ready to contribute

“I just basically have to go back to the short shifts, get the feel of the game again and hopefully won’t be too bad,” the veteran right winger said before the game, “I’m expecting a lot of things from myself, so hopefully I’ll be back to normal.”

Yeah, he was.

Count goaltender Corey Crawford and team captain Johnathan Towes as players happy to have Hossa back in the fold.

“He plays at both ends of the ice, he’s willing to put the effort in to come back and help our D. That’s what we need,” Crawford said. “It rubs off on other guys, too.” - and, added Towes, "Hossa’s always in the right spot, be it in the slot or up on the other side. When Sharpie and I turn the puck over, Hossa’s all over it, getting the puck back for us. It’s definitely helpful.”

Hossa suffered a back injury during the Cup finals against the Boston Bruins last June and it took him a significant number of games to get back into the swing of things at the start of this season after rehabbing all summer - and some had speculated that this latest injury was related to that, but the way Hossa skated right out of the gates on Thursday put that rumor to rest.