For the first time in these Stanley Cup Finals the team that scored first didn’t win the game, for the first time in these playoffs the Pittsburgh Penguins lost at home, and the Detroit Red Wings now sit one win away from their fourth Stanley Cup Championship since 1997.
Jiri Hudler’s first goal of the Finals gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at 2:26 of the third period.
After Brad Stuart held the puck in at the blue line, Darren Helm set up a pick to let it come to Hudler for a backhander from low in the right circle. The puck bounced off the post and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury before falling across the goal line.
The Penguins had a chance to even things up midway through the third with a long five-on-three. Henrik Zetterberg led the penalty kill, tying up Sidney Crosby’s stick on what would have been a simple tap-in at one point and stealing the puck for a break into the Pittsburgh zone at another.
Pittsburgh had opened the game’s scoring just 2:51 into the game, with Marian Hossa jamming the rebound of a Sergei Gonchar blast past Chris Osgood from the side of the net on a power play.
Nicklas Lidstrom tied things up for Detroit 4:17 later, rifling a shot from the top of the left circle past Fleury just after the expiration of a power play.
The Red Wings were scoreless on three power play chances while the Penguins scored their lone goal on one of their six tries with the extra attacker.
Osgood made 22 saves on 23 shots in earning the win. Fleury stopped 28 of 30 shots for his first loss at Mellon Arena since November 21.
Detroit can close out the series at Joe Louis Arena on Monday.
The Red Wings were without Tomas Holmstrom, who missed the game with an apparent hamstring injury. Darren McCarty took his place in the lineup and Dan Cleary skated in Holmstrom’s spot alongside Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk.
