Stanley Cup Capsules: Gonchar leads confident Pens past Wings

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Penguins lacked scoring and confidence while losing the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals in Detroit. With some calming words and a big goal, Sergei Gonchar supplied both with a performance that might have saved their season.

Gonchar's power-play goal midway through the third period and Marc-Andre Fleury's strong work in the net revived the Penguins on Tuesday night. The finals are far from over for Pittsburgh following a 4-2 victory against the Detroit Red Wings in Game 3.

Game 4, which could have been an elimination game for Pittsburgh, will be Thursday night. Either the defending champion Red Wings can take a stranglehold 3-1 advantage or the Penguins can make the finals a best-of-three after losing the first two in Detroit.

"This series is where it should be," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said.

For the Penguins, that means it's not over.

Gonchar's slap shot from center point off Evgeni Malkin's pass sailed past Chris Osgood as Bill Guerin and Sidney Crosby screened the goalie, Pittsburgh's ninth consecutive shot to start the third after being outshot 26-11 in the first two. The Penguins were 2 for 3 with the man advantage, with defenseman Kris Letang scoring in the first.

"The (Gonchar) power play was an unbelievable job by a handful of guys out there, keeping the play alive and giving Gonch a chance," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said.

The decisive power play was created by an interference call on Jonathan Ericsson, with Babcock saying, "At that point, they took over. They got the power play in the third and we didn't."

Fourth-line center Max Talbot scored twice, including an empty-netter, as the Penguins prevented the Red Wings from moving to within one victory of their fifth Stanley Cup since 1997.

Malkin assisted on the first three Penguins goals, giving him 33 points in 20 games, the most in the playoffs since Joe Sakic's 34 in 22 games for Stanley Cup champion Colorado in 1996.

"It's great to be back in this series," said Fleury, who made 27 saves while shaking off two unsteady games in Detroit in which he was twice beaten for goals by fourth-liner Justin Abdelkader.

It's also a repeat of last year, when the Penguins won 3-2 in Game 3 after losing the first two on the road. Detroit went on to win in six.

The way they played for much of Game 3, with Henrik Zetterberg and John Franzen scoring in the first to give them a 2-1 lead, it looked like the Red Wings were trying to win this one in three.

"I don't want to say this was a must-win game, but everybody knows we needed to win this game," Talbot said.

The Red Wings were so dominating at times the Penguins once had six men on the ice for nearly a half minute without it being detected. There were five-minute stretches of continuous up-and-down play, numerous scoring chances at both ends - and, the way the Red Wings kept pressuring, plenty of tentativeness by towel-waving Penguins fans nervous they might see the Penguins' season effectively end.

"I thought we had the second period pretty much ours," Detroit's Brad Stuart said. "Then they came up and upped the ante a little bit in the first seven, eight minutes of the third. They got us on our heels a bit and we weren't able to recover."

And Gonchar turned out to be right.

One of the few Penguins players at the rink on a day off Monday, Gonchar constantly repeated that the Penguins did enough right during their twin 3-1 losses in Detroit to encourage them. He and Guerin also downplayed the fact 31 of the previous 32 teams to win the first two games at home went on to win the series.

"Gonch has that about him," Crosby said. "He's a calming influence. He's calm no matter the situation."

Gonchar feels fortunate just to be playing. He missed three-quarters of the season with a shoulder injury, and he missed two playoff games following a knee-to-knee hit by Washington's Alex Ovechkin during the second round.

"What a leader," Talbot said. "Me and Sid were talking about him before the game. He sits across from us in the room and you could see it in his eyes that he was ready. So relaxed, so poised."

So confident.

"The urgency has to be there, but at the same time, you have to be smart about how you are playing," Gonchar said. "They're a good club. If you give them a chance, they're going to capitalize on it."

Crosby, the Penguins' 21-year-old captain, again didn't have a breakout game - he has one assist in three games - but, at least for one night, it didn't matter as the Penguins finally began getting production from their secondary scorers.

Zetterberg played another strong game, helping limit Crosby's chances despite not being matched as regularly against him as Pittsburgh had the final line change, but the Red Wings couldn't find the net after the frantic first period ended with a 2-all tie.

"I thought we played real desperate," Zetterberg said. "I think we played a good first and second period, created a lot of chances, couldn't get a puck in."

The second period was even faster than the first, although there were no goals. The pace was so fast, the fans who booed forward Marian Hossa whenever he was on the ice in the first stopped doing so. Hossa left Pittsburgh after last season to sign with Detroit.

Notes: Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux dropped the ceremonial first puck. ... Letang played so poorly in Game 2, Bylsma considered scratching him for Game 3. ... Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was in the crowd, wearing a Crosby jersey, and numerous players including James Farrior and Hines Ward attended.

Orpik delivers big hit, slams Pens back into final

PITTSBURGH - Forget towels, whiteouts and crazy bounces off the boards, the Pittsburgh Penguins got back into the Stanley Cup finals with puck possession and a good old-fashioned hit.

Brooks Orpik flattened rookie Darren Helm with an open-ice check early in the third period. The white-clad crowd erupted in cheers, the Penguins got a burst of energy, and soon had the critical power play that made all the difference Tuesday night.

By the time Sergei Gonchar's drive from the big Stanley Cup finals logo in the Detroit Red Wings' zone zipped its way into the net, the hometown Penguins had taken over. The goal snapped a tie with 9:31 left and gave Pittsburgh a one-goal lead.

They went on to win 4-2 in Game 3 and assured themselves another trip to Hockeytown

Just like last year, Pittsburgh is down 2-1 to the Red Wings in the finals with another game at home on Thursday. For the first time in this series the Penguins were outshot by Detroit - 29-21, but now they have something to show for their efforts.

"There was a couple of good hits, a couple of blocked shots, a couple of little things," Orpik said. "The crowd, who is pretty knowledgeable here, responded well and got everyone going. It's funny how things work because that was our worst game out of the three and you come out on top.

"You'll take it any way."

The Penguins were outshot 14-4 in the scoreless second period and felt fortunate they still had a chance to pull this one out in the third. Detroit had outscored opponents 19-6 in the third period and outshot them 210-153.

"We didn't have a very good second period. They were very good in the second," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "We needed to calm down and get back to our game. We've played it for 40-plus games here. We needed to make sure we get back to it, and go out there and play the third that way.

"We did a good job of starting, and built momentum with that. The building was going, and we had some chances and got the power play."

Red Wings rookies such as Helm, Justin Abdelkader and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson were possibly the biggest difference-makers in Detroit's two 3-1 wins at home to start the series. Abdelkader scored his first two NHL goals - one in each game - and Ericsson added one Sunday, just four days removed from appendix surgery.

They played key roles again in Game 3, but not nearly the way they were quickly growing accustomed to at home.

Helm was forced to pick himself up from the ice with 12:18 left in the game, and Ericsson was sitting in the penalty box - courtesy of an interference infraction against Matt Cooke - when Gonchar scored the game-winner.

Knowing Mikael Samuelsson had headed to the bench on a change, and realizing he had protection behind him, Orpik lined up Helm near the red line and caught him flush.

"It's not one of those things you go looking for," Orpik said. "He's had a great series last year and this year against us.

"For as small as he looks - I don't know how big he is off the ice - he is really tough to knock off the puck. He competes really hard. He's probably been their best player this series and probably last year against us."

The tide had already started turning once the puck dropped at the beginning of the third period. Pittsburgh took a page from the Detroit playbook and kept the puck for large stretches of time.

The Penguins held a 10-3 shots advantage in the third, the Red Wings' lowest total in a period in this year's playoffs.

"They came out with a good push," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "They got the power play there with the call on Ericsson, and at that point they took over."

The Penguins were outshooting the Red Wings 8-0 when Gonchar's drive hit the back of the net, and they didn't allow them a chance to change tired players during the advantage that lasted 1:23 - mostly in the Detroit zone.

"The power play was an unbelievable job by a handful of guys out there, winning puck battles," Bylsma said. "Keeping that thing alive for a long period of time, and giving Gonch a chance to rip that one home."

Ira Podell covers hockey for The Associated Press.

Red Wings' Hossa scoreless again in Cup finals

PITTSBURGH - Marian Hossa was booed loudly by Pittsburgh Penguins fans each time he had the puck.

He did nothing to quiet them Tuesday night.

Hossa was held without a goal for the third straight game and the white-clad fans in Pittsburgh loved it, especially because the Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 to pull within 2-1 in the Stanley Cup finals.

"I knew what to expect," he said. "I didn't try to pay attention to that. I just tried to play."

The good news for the defending champions, though, might be the fact that Hossa has scored two goals in each of his Game 4s with them since bolting from the runner-up Penguins.

Game 4 is Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

Hossa had chances to help Detroit, but he couldn't beat goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury with a shot and once he whiffed on an attempt on a bouncing puck.

"I tried to hit it in the air," Hossa said. "That would be a lucky play."

Hossa had two of his three shots in the second period as Detroit outshot Pittsburgh 14-4, and he lamented the missed opportunities to break the 2-all tie.

"We had some great ones, and we just didn't capitalize," he said. "(Mikael Samuelsson) had a great chance and hit a post."

The marquee free agent from Slovakia signed with Detroit last summer at a relative discount for about $7.5 million, declining an offer estimated to be worth $49 million to remain with the Penguins and reportedly many more millions to play in Edmonton.

He has scored in just three games this postseason - all Game 4s - but the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Hossa often has been dominant with and without the puck.

Hossa, though, was only noticeable Tuesday night because of the reaction the fans at Mellon Arena had when the puck was on his stick.

"He has the puck a lot, and that's good for us," teammate Valtteri Filppula said. "I think he played really well.

He had a couple real nice opportunities, just have to hope it goes in for him in the next game."

-- Larry Lage

Early home-ice success holds again at finals

PITTSBURGH - For three straight years, the home team has won the first three games of the Stanley Cup finals.

The Pittsburgh Penguins secured that accomplishment for the second consecutive year by beating the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 Tuesday night. However, the Game 3 winner hasn't managed to stay alive past Game 6.

"In my opinion, in the two games at home, one of them could have gone the other way, too," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "So this series is where it should be."

The Ottawa Senators cut the Anaheim Ducks' lead to 2-1 in the 2007 finals, only to drop the next two games and go out in five. The Penguins lost Game 4 to the Red Wings last year, forced the series back to Pittsburgh with a Game 5 win, but had its season end on home ice.

Not that the Red Wings are relying on history to come through for them again this time.

"I don't think so. It's a new year," forward Valtteri Filppula said.

THIRD-PERIOD TURNAROUND

After being outshot 26-11 through two periods, the Penguins turned things around in the third en route to the 4-2 victory.

Lucky to be tied 2-2 through 40 minutes, the Penguins turned it on and outshot Detroit 10-3 in the third. Sergei Gonchar's power-play goal snapped the deadlock with 9:31 remaining, and Max Talbot's empty-netter sealed Pittsburgh's win.

Before Tuesday, Detroit's previous low shot total in a period in this year's playoffs was six, done four times. The Red Wings had outscored opponents 19-6 in the third period and outshot them 210-153 during the postseason.

The Penguins rebounded after being outshot 14-4 in the second period.

"It's probably a little easier when you come out of a bad period like that and you're still tied," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "You feel like you've kind of dodged a bullet."

LIDSTROM SPEAKS

You can count on Nicklas Lidstrom meeting the media every day during the Stanley Cup finals.

One day after 21-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby took a break from reporters questions, Lidstrom gave his take Tuesday about standing up in front of cameras, tape recorders and notebooks on a regular basis.

"I look at it as being part of the job, the same as coming to practice," said Lidstrom, in his third season as Detroit Red Wings captain. "You go out there and skate at practice, you talk to the media afterward, too. I just consider that as part of the game and part of being a hockey player."

Crosby is a regular participant at the postseason podium, but after the Penguins returned to Pittsburgh on Monday following two consecutive losses in Detroit at the start of the Stanley Cup finals, he left the talking to other teammates and coach Dan Bylsma.

Crosby failed to record a point in either of Pittsburgh's 3-1 losses.

"I actually have a game plan for the playoffs. I made a point of saying every day doesn't need to be Sidney Crosby day," Bylsma said Monday. "There have been days when he hasn't been out here. So that was it. We made a choice to give other people a chance to be up here and for you to talk to them and feel it's important for it to be a team thing, not just Dan Bylsma and Sidney Crosby talking at the podium every day."

The demand for Lidstrom's time went up once he took over the captain's 'C' after Steve Yzerman retired.

"I get lot more requests and I talk a lot more to the media than when I wasn't the captain or even assistant captain," the generally soft-spoken Lidstrom said. "There is a little bit more responsibilities now when you are the captain."

THE CITY OF (ROAD) CHAMPIONS

By losing the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals in Detroit, the Penguins left themselves with little chance of ending a Pittsburgh sports curiosity. When the city's sports teams win championship-clinching games, they usually do it on the road.

Over the past 38 years, Pittsburgh's three major pro sports teams have won a combined 10 Super Bowls, Stanley Cup titles or World Series championships, but not one was accomplished in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers' six Super Bowl victories were won at neutral sites. The Pirates' 1971 and 1979 World Series titles were won in Baltimore. The Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 1991 at Minnesota and in 1992 in Chicago.

The last title won by a Pittsburgh team at home was by the 1960 Pirates, when they defeated the New York Yankees 10-9 on Bill Mazeroski's homer in Game 7 of the World Series.

The Penguins can play a maximum of three home games in the Stanley Cup finals (Games 3, 4 and 6) and thus needed to win four in a row to have any chance of winning the Cup in Pittsburgh.

AWARDS

St. Louis Blues president John Davidson, a longtime local and national NHL commentator before he switched jobs, was selected as the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winner for his contributions in hockey broadcasting, the Hockey Hall of Fame announced Tuesday.

Davidson, had been an analyst for MSG Network on New York Rangers telecasts, along with NBC and CBC, and had been in the broadcast booth for the past five Winter Olympics.

"John Davidson has had a remarkable career in almost every aspect of professional hockey, and we as a broadcast community benefited immensely from his expertise and professionalism," said Chuck Kaiton, president of the NHL Broadcasters' Association. "He is an incredibly deserving recipient of this honor."

Pittsburgh sports writer Dave Molinari was chosen as this year's recipient of the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for print journalism.

Molinari, the lead hockey writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, has covered the Penguins since 1984. He was recognized by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association for his "subtle blend of dry wit and unending sarcasm," and for chronicling the career of Hall of Fame forward Mario Lemieux.

"The fans of Pittsburgh of been fortunate to have highly skilled players such as Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby," PHWA president Kevin Allen said in a statement. "And they have been equally fortunate to have a highly skilled writer such as Dave to chronicle their successes."

Davidson and Molinari will be honored at a luncheon on Nov. 9, before the Hockey Hall of Fame induction.

Elsewhere:

Hits to head still not banned by NHL GMs

PITTSBURGH - NHL general managers still have little interest in outlawing otherwise legal hits that result in contact to an opponent's head.

The NHL Players' Association, acting on behalf of its members, has been pushing for a rule that would ban blows to the head. So far, that request has been met with resistance from the 30 general managers - many of whom were longtime players in the league.

"There is no appetite for an automatic penalty," Toronto general manager Brian Burke said Tuesday following a meeting at the Stanley Cup finals.

Burke has long been a proponent of the physical side of the sport and often builds his clubs with a significant amount of brawn in the lineup.

He isn't concerned about negative public reaction that could come from Tuesday's decision not to further protect players by adding a new rule governing hits.

"I'm not running for office here. I don't care if people agree with what I say," Burke said. "I'm telling you there were 30 GMs in that room and there's no appetite for an automatic penalty. Hitting is a critical part of our game, it's distinctive to North American hockey.

"If you go to an automatic penalty, the leagues where they've put it in I think it's resulted in horrendous calls for clean checks. So there is no appetite for that."

NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell made a multi-pronged presentation Tuesday that included video of hits - both legal and illegal. He explained his decisions for imposing suspensions for some of the infractions, including one by Washington's Donald Brashear on New York Rangers forward Blair Betts in the first round of the playoffs.

Brashear was suspended a total of six games, five for the shot that broke a bone around Betts' eye.

"The hits that caused an injury grabbed a lot of attention," Campbell said. "They are no different than a legal shoulder hit that didn't cause an injury. The managers' appetite was to keep it the same and do a little more education with the players. But it's part of our game. We don't like when a player gets hurt, but it happens. It's part of the game that fans have come to accept, and (the GMs) didn't have an appetite to get rid of it."

Campbell also dismissed the notion that a poll of players revealed that 70 percent would welcome a rule against shots to the head.

The NHLPA is expected to present another proposal calling for the new penalty to be adopted.

"I'd like to ask all the players myself and I'd like to show these hits," Campbell said. "Seventy percent of those players might say that, but each hit involved two players - one delivering it and one taking it. That's 50 percent right there. Maybe the guy who took it didn't like it, but the guy who delivered it thought it was legal."

While no one wishes to see players get hurt, as Chicago's Martin Havlat was when he was caught up high by a check from Detroit's Niklas Kronwall in the Western Conference finals. Still, big hits are a big drawing card for hockey in North America.

"It's an issue that we all want to take a long look at and continue our dialogue with the NHLPA," Philadelphia Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said. "It's a fine line. I don't think anyone wants hitting to come out of the game. At the end of the day, it's always been a man's game. We don't want to see serious injuries, and I think we can continue to watch out for that."

There was still no resolution, either, on the idea of adding penalties that would curb fighting - especially staged bouts that occur after faceoffs or at the end of games.

"I'm still focused on the blows to the head and the hits like that," San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson said. "It was a priority issue and I think we're getting closer to defining it better. I'm still on that before we get into fighting. I'd like closure to other issues before."

One thing that was agreed upon was to add a season-ending award that would honor the GM of the year.

While logistics still have to be worked out as to who will vote for the award, it should be part of the league's season-ending ceremony by next year.

"The NHL is going to acknowledge excellence at every level ... good-guy award, defensemen get awards, this and that, and a coach of the year, but there is no GM of the year. I didn't think that was right," Burke said. "I first raised this in 1994, so sometimes being a hardheaded Irishman pays off."

-- Ira Podell

Balsillie still open to auction for Coyotes

NEW YORK - Jim Balsillie wants to buy and move the Phoenix Coyotes but he's still open to the idea of an auction for the club.

"From the day we announced the bid, we had motions before the bankruptcy court requesting in early June Judge (Redfield T.) Baum conduct an auction for the team and let all bidders come forward, whether they intended to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix or whether they intended to relocate them," Balsillie's spokesman Bill Walker said Tuesday in a conference call with reporters.

"Mr. Balsillie's committed to a fair, transparent process ... should Judge Baum allow the auction to proceed," Walker said. "We're happy to see other bidders come forward."

Basillie has filed an application to relocate the NHL team to Hamilton, Ontario.

Former CFL commissioner Tom Wright devised the bid for the Coyotes and said Tuesday the NHL would be better served by allowing the team to be moved.

"I believe that replacing a chronically underperforming club ... with a vibrant, fan-supported financially vital member club that is most likely to become a top-15 producer and a positive financial contributor to the league is in the best interests of everyone involved," he said.

Walker stressed that the bid to buy the Coyotes was not intended to realign the NHL, but rather to improve the viability of the franchise.

"There are great hockey markets in the United States, and whether it's 24 out of 30 teams that are U.S.-based or 23 out of 30 teams, our only issue here is what's the best outcome for the Coyotes franchise," he said.

Walker also said that although Balsillie still believes the franchise can begin play in southern Ontario this fall, he was willing to leave the team in Arizona for one more season if his purchase is approved.

"The NHL has raised some issues with scheduling that could be problematic, and we wanted to remove that impediment to Mr. Balsillie's offer to purchase being successful," he said.

Balsillie's relocation application is one of several documents that will be submitted this week.

Lawyers for the NHL and Coyotes majority owner Jerry Moyes have been given a Friday deadline by bankruptcy judge Baum to present written arguments whether the team can be moved as part of a sale in his court.

Baum will preside over a hearing next week where the parties will state their respective cases and has said he intends to make a prompt ruling on the relocation issue. His decision will dictate whether Balsillie can become an NHL owner after years of trying.

Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said after a meeting Tuesday in Pittsburgh that he's not worried about the team's uncertain future.

"That's not a concern of mine at all," Maloney said. "We certainly expect to be in business next year."

TV ratings for finals off to best start since '02

NEW YORK - Television ratings for the Stanley Cup finals are off to their best start since 2002.

NBC said Tuesday that Games 1 and 2 averaged a 2.8 rating and 5 share. That's up 17 percent from last year, when the first games on the network were Games 3 and 4. Versus showed Games 1 and 2 in 2008; the cable channel is broadcasting Games 3 and 4 this year.

The ratings were the highest for the first two games on NBC or ABC since 2002, when the Detroit-Carolina series averaged a 3.4/7.

Detroit beat Pittsburgh on Saturday and Sunday.

The rating is the percentage watching a program among homes with TVs. The share is the percentage tuned into the broadcast among those households with TVs on at the time.