(Best E Casino) - The Detroit Red Wings will get another shot at clinching Lord Stanley's Cup tonight, when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for Game 6 of the best-of-seven finals.
The Red Wings grabbed a 3-1 series edge with a Game 4 victory in Pittsburgh, but were unable to seal the title in Monday's home test against the Penguins. Instead, Pittsburgh rallied late in regulation to send Game 5 to overtime and then won it 4-3 in the third extra period.
Petr Sykora's power play goal at the 9:57 mark of the third OT cut Pittsburgh's series deficit to 3-2 and the club can force a decisive Game 7 on Saturday in Detroit with a victory on its home ice tonight.
Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist while Maxime Talbot scored with 34.3 seconds left in the third period to tie the contest at 3-3. The Penguins won the contest despite being outshot by a whopping 58-32 margin.
In the third session, Pittsburgh was awarded a power play when Jiri Hudler was called for a high-sticking double-minor after he hit Rob Scuderi and drew blood.
On the power play, Sergei Gonchar, who had sat out the first and second overtime periods with back spasms, blasted a shot from the right point that missed the net. However, Evgeni Malkin grabbed the puck along the right side and fired a pass out to Sykora, who snapped a wrister from the right circle that hit off the left arm of Chris Osgood and squeezed into the net for the win.
Marc-Andre Fleury came up with his best game of the series thus far as he stopped 55 shots in the win for Pittsburgh, which is looking for its first Stanley Cup championship since 1992.
Darren Helm, Pavel Datsyuk and Brian Rafalski each scored a goal for the Red Wings, who are seeking their fourth Cup in the past 11 seasons. Osgood, who shut out the Pens in Games 1 and 2 at Joe Louis Arena, finished the game with 28 saves.
Henrik Zetterberg added a pair of assists in the loss and is second to Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby in playoff scoring with 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists). Crosby is leading all scorers with 26 points on six goals and 20 helpers.
The Red Wings are shooting for their fourth Stanley Cup title in the past 11 seasons and the 11th in the storied history of the franchise. Detroit won back-to-back titles in 1997 and '98 before they last hoisted the Cup in 2002.
Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, a native Swede, is trying to become 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.
Meanwhile, 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.
Pittsburgh was the best home team in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, going 26-10-5 at the Igloo. The Pens were a perfect 9-0 at home in the playoffs before dropping Game 4 to the Red Wings.
The Red Wings were one of the best road teams in the NHL during the regular season, posting a 25-12-4 mark away from Michigan. Detroit is 6-4 as the visiting club in the playoffs.
Detroit 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.
