Sidney Crosby scored twice and Adam Hall provided the game-winner as the Pittsburgh Penguins ended their scoring drought with a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at Mellon Arena on Wednesday.
Johan Franzen, with his playoff-leading 13th goal, and Mikael Samuelsson replied for the Red Wings, who now hold a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4 on Saturday night.
With the victory, the Penguins extended their win streak at Mellon Arena to 17 straight games, dating back to the regular season. The loss by the Red Wings snapped a six-game win streak in Stanley Cup Final games.
''We still have to keep going, but for sure we needed this one,'' Crosby said after the game. ''We all earned it, and that's the reward. A big win.''
After not registering their second shot until late in the first period, the Penguins outshot the Red Wings 34-24 in the game.
The Penguins looked much better than they did in Detroit during the early going but still could not put a puck behind Chris Osgood in the Detroit net. The Red Wings survived the early barrage and engineered a few scoring chances of their own as the tide began to turn midway through the period.
The Penguins' second shot of the period did not come until there was about five minutes remaining but from that point on, they started to come on, paying dividends with Crosby's goal.
Late in the opening period, Marian Hossa's shot deflected to Crosby who tucked the puck past Osgood. It was the first goal of the series for the Penguins, ending a scoring drought of 137:25.
"I thought Crosby and Hossa were better," said Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock after the game. "Maybe it was the matchups. You have to give them credit, they found a way to win a game."
The Penguins carried the momentum of Crosby's first-period goal into the second with Crosby hitting the crossbar on an early power play. The Penguins continued to dominate early in the frame, leading to another power play and Crosby's second goal.
Early in the second frame, Crosby pounced on a loose puck beside Osgood and slid it into the open net for a power play goal. The play began with Sergei Gonchar firing a shot from the point. The puck was deflected and found its way to Ryan Malone in the slot, whose shot was again deflected. Hossa then sent the puck to the net and Crosby, parked beside the net, did the rest.
Penguins' head coach Michel Therrien was expecting a lot from Crosby in Game 3 and he wasn't disappointed with his captain.
"There's no doubt you're looking for your best player to bring his A-game and certainly Sid did that," Therrien added.
But again the Red Wings began to control the play as the period reached the halfway point.
Hal Gill took two undisciplined penalties, flattening Tomas Holmstrom in front of the net each time. The Penguins dodged a bullet the first time but Franzen made them pay on the second power play.
Late in the period on a Red Wings' power play, Franzen took the puck from the half boards and went hard to the net, lifting the puck over Marc-Andre Fleury in the Pittsburgh net. Nicklas Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall earned assists on the goal.
Following the game, there was speculation that Holmstrom suffered a knee injury during the game but Red Wings officials would not offer any specifics afterwards.
"The injury has nothing to do with his back," Babcock said. "It's a lower-body problem and we'll re-evaluate it again tomorrow."
Midway through the third period, the fourth line made some noise with Hall restoring the Penguins' two-goal lead. Hall circled behind the Detroit net, fired the puck out in front and watched it carom in behind Osgood. Max Talbot and Gary Roberts assisted on the goal.
After Hall's goal, the pace picked up with both teams trading scoring chances.
And Samuelsson made the Penguins' fans nervous with his fifth goal of the playoffs late in the third. Samuelsson fired a harmless shot from the half boards that fooled Fleury. Brad Stuart and Valtteri Filppula earned assists on the play.
Right after Samuelsson's goal, Evgeni Malkin took a hooking penalty on Kronwall with less than five minutes remaining but the Red Wings came up empty with the man-advantage.
TSN Notes: The last Stanley Cup Final game in Pittsburgh was 16 years ago today. Veteran defenceman Darryl Sydor made his playoff debut, replacing rookie Kris Letang. Before Crosby's first goal, the last time Pittsburgh scored a goal against Detroit was Dec. 12, 2005 when Mark Recchi scored in a 3-1 loss to the Red Wings. Crosby's first goal ended the longest scoring drought in franchise history, a span of 154:56 going back to the Eastern Conference Final.. The 1971 Chicago Blackhawks are the only team in Stanley Cup Final history to blow a 2-0 series lead after winning the first two games at home.