The Detroit Red Wings rallied for a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Two on Sunday as their Stanley Cup rematch continued to follow a familiar script.
The best-of-seven series now shifts to Pittsburgh for the next two games, starting today. The Penguins, who trail 2-0, may be getting an uncomfortable feeling that history is repeating itself.
A year ago, the Red Wings shutout Pittsburgh in the opening two games of the finals at Joe Louis Arena. The only thing that has changed is the Penguins have managed to score a goal in each of their 3-1 defeats.
PHOTO: AFP
Playing their third game in five nights and back on the ice less than 24 hours after Game One, the weary Wings spotted Pittsburgh an early 1-0 lead but stormed back with goals from three players not known for their offensive flair — rookies Jonathan Ericsson and Justin Abdelkader, and Valtteri Filppula.
“I thought we were exhausted out there tonight,” said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. “It’s amazing what will does for you.”
“You’ve got to will yourself through, grind it out and we’ll get a day off tomorrow,” he said. “We found a way to win two games but we haven’t been as good as we’re capable of being and obviously we need to freshen up.”
The Red Wings also received another brilliant effort from netminder Chris Osgood, who underscored his reputation as a big-game performer making 31 saves and improving his Stanley Cup finals record to 10-2.
For the Penguins, the defeat presents them with a familiar, daunting challenge.
Of the 32 times home teams have swept the first two games of the finals, only once have they failed to go on and win the Stanley Cup.
The Penguins got off to a bright start and opened the scoring in the first period. Evgeni Malkin, the playoffs’ leading scorer, collected his 13th on a wild goalmouth scramble on a power play.
However, the Red Wings hit back with two goals in the second.
Ericsson, who had his appendix removed just four days ago, pulled Detroit level with a rocket less than five minutes into the period before Filppula edged the home team in front at 10:29.
Justin Abdelkader, who notched his first career goal in Game One, gave Detroit a two-goal cushion early in the third, slapping a bouncing puck past Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury.
Pittsburgh’s frustration boiled over in the final seconds as Malkin dropped the gloves to scrap with Red Wings’ Henrik Zetterberg, a former nominee as the league’s most gentlemanly player.
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
PINA BRACE: Claudia Pina scored in the 61st and 74th minutes, while Vicky Lopez added one as Spain notched their third victory in a final in the past four tournaments Claudia Pina scored twice and Germany crumbled on Tuesday as Spain retained the UEFA Women’s Nations League title with a 3-0 victory in the final’s second leg. Vicky Lopez also scored after Pina finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with Germany stubbornly hanging on as Spain had done in the first leg, a 0-0 draw in Kaiserslautern on Friday. Spain were without three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who broke her leg in training on Sunday. Lopez took Bonmati’s place and Spain dominated from the start. Esther Gonzalez swept the ball just past the post and Mariona Caldentey forced a save
RSS