(Best E Casino) - The Detroit Red Wings will aim for their fourth Stanley Cup title in 12 years tonight, when they try to finish off the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of the best-of-seven finals at Joe Louis Arena.
Detroit jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup finals by taking Games 1 and 2 on its home ice. Pittsburgh answered with a Game 3 victory in the Steel City, but the Red Wings took the fourth meeting to give themselves a chance to clinch tonight in front of their fans.
The Red Wings won back-to-back titles in 1997 and '98 before they last hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup in 2002.
Detroit picked up a close victory in Game 4, as Jiri Hudler's goal early in the third period proved to be the game-winner in a 2-1 decision for the Red Wings at Mellon Arena.
Nicklas Lidstrom recorded the other score for the Red Wings and the Swedish defenseman is now on the brink of becoming the first European captain to lead his team to a Stanley Cup title. Lidstrom was a member of Detroit's last three Cup champion teams, but the legendary Steve Yzerman was the team captain on those squads.
Chris Osgood stopped 22-of-23 shots to earn his 13th win of the postseason. Osgood is attempting to win his third Stanley Cup with Detroit and his second title as a starting goaltender. Osgood served as the backup to Mike Vernon in '97, but was the Red Wings No. 1 netminder the following year.
With a 13-3 record, 1.45 goals against average and .936 save percentage in the playoffs, Osgood is a leading candidate to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the postseason.
Red Wings centerman Henrik Zetterberg has gone two games without a point and is now second behind Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby for the postseason scoring lead. Crosby has 24 points on six goals and 18 assists, while Zetterberg has notched 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists).
Marian Hossa tallied in Game 4 for the Penguins, who lost at home for the first time in the playoffs, falling to 9-1 at the Igloo in the postseason. It was also Pittsburgh's first setback at home since losing to San Jose on February 24.
Marc-Andre Fleury was solid in defeat, making 28 saves.
Detroit won the pivotal fourth game despite playing without forward Tomas Holmstrom, who injured his hamstring in Game 3. Holmstrom, who plays on Detroit's top line with Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, has four goal and eight assists in this year's playoffs. He is expected to return for tonight's contest.
The Red Wings are 9-1 at home this postseason after notching a league-best 29-9-3 mark in the Motor City during the regular season.
Pittsburgh is 4-4 as the visiting team in the playoffs and was 21-17-3 during the regular season.
If necessary, Game 6 of this series will take place Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.
In order to win this series, the Penguins must become the second team in NHL history to erase a 3-1 series' deficit to win the Stanley Cup. The Toronto Maple Leafs came back from a 3-0 hole to beat Detroit in the 1942 Cup finals.
The Red Wings came into this series as the favorites, having won the Presidents' Trophy as the team with the best record in the NHL during the regular season. Pittsburgh was the Atlantic Division champion and the second- seeded team in the Eastern Conference.
Both teams took impressive paths to the Cup finals this year, as the Penguins rolled through the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 12-2 record and Detroit claimed the West championship by winning 12 of 16 games. The Red Wings even set a franchise record at one point with nine consecutive victories this postseason.
Detroit defeated Nashville in six games during the opening round, swept Colorado in the following series, and beat Dallas in six tests of the conference finals.
The Penguins swept Ottawa in the first round and defeated the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers in five games during the conference semifinals and finals, respectively.
