Wings come through in another must-win situation

ANAHEIM -- As they enjoy a rare day off during the postseason, the Detroit Red Wings still have a ways to go in their quest to repeat as Stanley Cup champions for the first time in more than a decade.

For that matter, their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Anaheim Ducks is still very much up in the air heading into Game 5 Sunday night at Joe Louis Arena (5 p.m. ET, NHL Network, U.S., TSN, RDS). But the Red Wings cleared one major hurdle Thursday night, one that could have derailed their title chances.

Two goals each by Johan Franzen and Marian Hossa powered Detroit to a 6-3 victory in Game 4 at the Honda Center that allowed the Red Wings to head home even instead of facing a nearly insurmountable 3-1 deficit that only 20 teams in history have come back from in a seven-game series.

It was further proof that the Red Wings know how to buckle down when a victory is absolutely needed. Detroit has won the last five times it has faced a 2-1 deficit in a series.

"We felt we had to win this game," Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "Otherwise, it would have been tough to go back to Detroit being down 3-1. We felt we had to come out with a strong effort."

The Red Wings enjoyed a night of redemption after scoring just seven goals in the first three games. Especially Hossa.

Having taken a pay cut last summer to sign a one-year deal in his quest to win a Cup after coming up short with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, Hossa hadn't done much in the playoffs outside of scoring two goals in Game 4 of a series-clinching sweep of Columbus in the first round.

Hossa appeared to had batted in the tying goal with 1:04 left in regulation of Game 3 only to have referee Brad Watson blow the play dead because he couldn't find the puck sliding free from Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller.

Hossa, who led Detroit with 40 goals in the regular season, delivered big time in Game 4 as he scored consecutive second-period goals to break a 2-2 tie. Hossa's explosion was part of a combined seven-point night for him and his new linemates, Franzen and Valtteri Filppula.

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock reunited the trio of Tomas Holmstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, which gave Anaheim another tough scoring line to face.

"It's great to see Hoss get a couple of goals," Lidstrom said. "When you put together star players like that and you still have a second line with Hossa and Franzen that can score for us, I think it makes us give a different look.

"We can have the speed with Zetterberg and Datsyuk and can have the big guys with the other two playing together."

In a quiet dressing room after Game 4, the Ducks believed they let an opportunity to take command of the series slip away. Shaky defensive play and the first poor performance by Hiller in the playoffs helped Detroit convert the many shots it's had in the series into goals.

"You go from having a chance to be up 3-1 and now it's tied 2-2," Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin said. "No one said it was going to be easy and now it's just a best-of-3. We go out there on Sunday and try to win one in Detroit."

When asked if the series has swung in their direction, several Red Wings weren't about to give their tough No. 8 seed opponent -- the 2007 Cup champions -- any shred of motivation to feed on.

"Who knows? You never know," Franzen said. "It's playoff hockey. But tonight we were the better team. But you never know. We'll see what they got when they come back to Detroit.

"You never know with Anaheim. We've had trouble with them before."

But the defending champs headed home having passed their biggest test this postseason.

"We're playing at home right now and we've got the momentum on our side," Hossa said. "It would be really hard to lose this one and come home with a 3-1. It would be really tough. We fought for it and we're going home 2-2 and the series is tied, like the beginning."