Crosby Lifts Penguins Over Wings

The Penguins are 0-for-The Joe but downright perfect at home.

After two shutout losses to the Red Wings in Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena,Sidney Crosby scored Pittsburgh’s first two goals of the Stanley Cup finals andcarried the Penguins to a 3-2 victory Wednesday night.

The Red Wings still lead the series 2-1, with Game 4 back in Pittsburgh onSaturday night. The finals then shifts back to Detroit for a now necessary fifthgame.

The Penguins improved to 9-0 at home in the playoffs and have won 17straight there, dating to a loss to San Jose on Feb. 24. Their previous game infront of the home crowd was a 6-0 blitz in the clinching Game 5 of the EasternConference finals against Philadelphia.

They were outscored 7-0 in Detroit.

“Whether it was me or anybody else, we just wanted to get the first one,”Crosby said. “We wanted to get a goal, find a way. That was the mind-set goingin, and it was nice to get it for sure.”

Crosby had been bottled up by the Red Wings’ top line of Henrik Zetterberg,Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom, but got free at times at home where thePenguins enjoyed the last change.

His first goal came with that Detroit trio on the ice, and the second wasscored during a power play.

“His work ethic was there. He stuck to the plan,” Penguins coach MichelTherrien said. “That’s what you’re looking for from your captain, show anexample. Good players, when the challenge is there, they like to play those typeof games.”

Now Pittsburgh has a chance to equal the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, who droppedtwo shutout losses to start the 2003 finals in New Jersey before rebounding toget even with two wins at home.

The Penguins have Crosby, their 20-year-old captain, to thank for that.Their finals-long scoring drought ended after 137 minutes, 25 seconds with thehelp of a rare mistake by Detroit.

Red Wings defenseman Brad Stuart held the puck behind the net for severalmoments as he waited for a forecheck to subside and sent a pass toward the leftpoint that caromed off Zetterberg’s skate to Marian Hossa.

He skated into the circle and attempted a shot that hit Stuart’s skate andbounced to Crosby, who snapped a drive in off Osgood with 2:35 left in thefirst. It gave life to Pittsburgh, which had been outshot 9-4 in the period.

“It wasn’t that the chances weren’t there, it was just finally that it wentin for us,” Crosby said. “We would hit posts and didn’t have bounces that cameon our stick near the net. It felt good to get the first one and get momentum.”

It was the first goal scored on Osgood in 154:58, a run that stretched backto Game 6 of the Western finals. The Red Wings suddenly found themselves behind,a position they have rarely been in during the playoffs.