Things got very interesting just prior to Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, as ESPN Chicago's Scott Powers noted...

Chicago Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa was a late scratch from Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Boston Bruins on Monday.

Hossa, who has seven goals and eight assists in the playoffs, skated during the team's pregame warmups and was scratched with about 15 minutes left before the opening faceoff. An NBC announcer said Hossa was hit by a puck during warmups.

Ben Smith filled in for Hossa. Smith scored one goal in one game for the Blackhawks in the regular season. He had three goals in seven playoff games in 2011.

And things COULD have ended quite poorly for Zdeno Chara when he bumped both Milan Lucic Adam McQuaid during warm-ups, yielding a trip to the locker room for stitches to the back of his head and an in-game absence to have his skates re-sharpened: