Penguins clip Red Wings in Game 3

PITTSBURGH: Sidney Crosby revived the Pittsburgh Penguins' Stanley Cup hopes by scoring twice in a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 3 on Wednesday.

The Red Wings shut out the Penguins in the opening two games of the best-of-seven series in Detroit and Pittsburgh returned home to the Igloo, where they had been unbeatable this postseason, promising the Finals were far from over.

Crosby and the Penguins, supported by a raucous crowd waving white towels, delivered on that promise and improved their postseason home record to 9-0.

"We still have to keep going but for sure we needed this one," Crosby told reporters.

"I think we all earned it and that's the reward, a big win."

The Penguins still face a daunting task with history favoring the Red Wings. Of the 31 teams to take the opening two games of the Finals on home ice, 30 have gone on to lift the Stanley Cup.

However, if Pittsburgh can add another win to its perfect home mark in Game 4 on Saturday, it will send the final back to the Motor City level at 2-2.

The Penguins were quickly on the attack but needed almost the entire first period before Crosby finally ended Pittsburgh's goal drought, taking a pass from Marian Hossa and flicking it past Chris Osgood.

The goal was the first surrendered by the Red Wings in almost 155 minutes of playoff hockey.

"Whether it was me or anybody else, we just wanted to get the first one," said Crosby, the reigning league MVP. "We wanted to get a goal, it didn't matter who or when."

Crosby extended the lead to 2-0 when he slammed home a rebound past Osgood 2:34 into the second period on the power play.

Johan Franzen, who only returned to Detroit's lineup for Game 2 on Monday after missing six games with concussion, showed the layoff had done nothing to dull his scoring touch by notching his playoffs-best 13th goal.

With Pittsburgh clinging to a 2-1 third-period lead, Adam Hall settled frayed nerves when his pass from the back of the Detroit goal ricocheted in off Osgood's backside for what proved to be the game-winner.

Agencies

(China Daily 05/30/2008 page19)