Krog's hat trick helps KO Marlies
Despite being without one of their top players, the Chicago Wolves got the jump on the Toronto Marlies on Friday night in the opener of their Calder Cup Western Conference finals series.
High-scoring winger Brett Sterling was sidelined by a bone bruise to a leg, but the Wolves still had MVP Jason Krog, whose 3 goals and assist helped them turn back the Marlies 4-1 at Allstate Arena.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is back in Rosemont on Sunday afternoon.
Krog's hat trick was the ninth in Wolves playoff history and gave him 7 goals in the last four games after going the first 10 of the postseason with none.
"My linemates are giving me great chances, getting me the puck all the time," Krog said.
Sterling is normally one of those linemates, but the American Hockey League's second-leading goal scorer during the regular season behind only Krog was hurt in Tuesday's Game 7 win over Rockford.
Wolves coach John Anderson called Sterling's status day-to-day.
Joe Motzko (2 assists) replaced Sterling on the top line with Krog and Darren Haydar.
"Our team is so deep that when one of our star players goes out another guy steps in," Krog said. "Motzko played great tonight."
The game was a lot tighter than the final score indicated. It was 2-1 until Krog beat Toronto goalie Scott Clemmensen from a bad angle with 2:07 to play. Krog then added an empty-net goal short-handed in the final minute.
Anderson felt his club had a letdown after its emotional seven-game series with Rockford.
"It's funny, when you go through a seven-game series you get so set in your ways about playing a certain team, then you get a team come in that plays a different style," Anderson said. "I just thought our team was out of sync tonight and we made some plays we wouldn't normally make. But we won and got a little lucky there."
The Wolves got lucky with 8:20 to play when Toronto's Chris Harrington hit the post on a breakaway with a shot that could have made it 2-2.
Wolves goalie Ondrej Pavelec was very good again, making 26 saves.
The Wolves' power play, so good in the final two games against Rockford, was 0-for-3 in a scoreless and mostly even first period, but the story changed early in the second period when Haydar connected on a power play at 1:27 for a 1-0 lead.
Haydar made a nice move around a sliding defender in the slot to beat Clemmensen for his 50th career AHL playoff goal -- 1 shy of the record held by Jody Gage.
Krog's first goal of the night at 7:15 of the second period made it 2-0.