DETROIT (AP) -A quick-hitting goal, a fortunate one and a spectacular save gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a chance Monday night to extend the Stanley Cup finals against the Detroit Red Wings.
Pittsburgh led Detroit 2-1 entering the third period of Game 5, needing a win to force the series to return home.
The Penguins went ahead 2-0 in the first period on Marian Hossa’s wrist shot and when Adam Hall was credited with an unassisted goal that caromed into the net after Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall tried to whack the puck into a corner.
The Red Wings pulled within one early in the second with a lucky goal of their own and were robbed on a shot that could have tied the game late in the period.
Rookie Darren Helm sent a shot toward the net that went off Pittsburgh defenseman Rob Scuderi and got past Marc-Andre Fleury.
A hit helped Detroit score just as some toughness led to the Penguins’ first two goals.
Helm landed a hit along the boards that allowed teammate Kirk Maltby to keep the puck in the Pittsburgh end, then Maltby assisted Helm on his second goal of the playoffs.
Detroit had a great opportunity to tie the game with about 3 minutes left in the second, but Fleury’s kick save denied Mikael Samuelsson at the end of a 2-on-1 rush.
Pittsburgh defenseman Sergei Gonchar went down on the play, trying to catch Samuelsson and ended up going into the boards head first. Later in the period, Penguins forward Ryan Malone was hit in the face with a deflected puck and skated toward the dressing room.
On the brink of elimination, the Penguins clearly looked like they intended to send the series back home for Game 6 on Wednesday night. If Game 7 is necessary, it will be Saturday night in Detroit.
The Penguins scored on two of their first five shots – at 8:37 and 14:41 of the first – against Chris Osgood, who had been giving up just 1.5 goals a game.
In Games 1 and 2, Detroit shut out Pittsburgh by a combined 7-0 score.
Only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs have rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the finals to win the Stanley Cup, pulling off the feat against Detroit after losing the first three games.
On the first two scoring plays, Pittsburgh proved to be stronger in the corners after going 8-plus minutes without a shot.
Pascal Dupuis hit Brian Rafalski in a corner, got the puck to Sidney Crosby at the side of the net and the 20-year-old superstar perfectly set up Hossa in the right circle for his goal.
Hall withstood a hit from Johan Franzen in the corner, skated toward the net and scored a playoff-type goal that teams need to advance – or keep playing – this time of year.
Three penalties were called in the first 5-plus minutes, putting Detroit on the power play twice and Pittsburgh once for just over a minute. The Red Wings failed to take advantage as did Helm, who missed the net on a breakaway with 2-plus minutes left.
Fleury had 19 saves through two periods and Osgood had 12.
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