Marian Hossa Injury: Blackhawks Will Rally Around Injured Star to Defeat Coyotes

The Chicago Blackhawks will rally around injured forward Marian Hossa and complete their comeback against the Phoenix Coyotes, a series that the Blackhawks currently trail 3-2 after Saturday's overtime win.

Jonathan Toews' winner in the extra period in Game 5 showed the Stanley Cup-winning experience and grit that the Blackhawks will play with for the remainder of the series.

“They haven’t given us much this series, but tonight we wouldn’t be denied,” Toews said, according to Adam Jahns' Twitter, after Game 5, and with their captain leading the way, the Blackhawks have a strong chance to force a decisive Game 7 this week.

Hossa did not play in Game 5, and there is no timetable for his return after being the victim of a brutal head shot from Coyotes forward Raffi Torres, who was suspended 25 games as a result of the hit.

The Blackhawks could easily have won this series already since all the games have been so close, evidenced by the fact that all five of them have ended in overtime.

The Coyotes have relied heavily on goaltender Mike Smith to keep them in games, but he cannot be expected to perform at a near-perfect level for the rest of the series, especially against a Chicago team that has a lot of offensive firepower, even with Hossa out with an injury.

Last year the Blackhawks fell behind to the Vancouver Canucks 0-3 before fighting back and forcing a Game 7, which they ultimately lost in overtime because of a terrible turnover in their own zone.

The Blackhawks won't give up and they have the talent and experience needed to win the final two games of this series and move onto the second round.

The injury to Hossa certainly hurts them offensively, but forwards Patrick Kane, Dave Bolland and Viktor Stalberg are all capable of stepping up and giving Chicago the goal scoring needed to complete the series comeback.

Motivated by winning the series for their injured teammate, the Blackhawks will win Game 6 in Chicago then eliminate the Coyotes in Game 7 on the road.

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Nicholas Goss is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and was also the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Final in Boston.