Resilient Red Wings win 3-1, take 2-0 lead over frustrated Penguins

Resilient Red Wings win 3-1, up 2-0 on Pens

DETROIT — Valtteri Filppula and Jonathan Ericsson scored in the second period and the resilient Detroit Red Wings opened a two-game lead over Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup finals for the second year in a row, winning 3-1 in Game 2 on Sunday night.

Playoffs scoring leader Evgeni Malkin gave Pittsburgh its first lead of the series by scoring on a power play late in the first, but the frustrated Penguins produced no more offense as star Sidney Crosby was shut out again. Crosby has no points in the series.

Ericsson tied it with a long slap shot from inside the blue line at 4:21 of the second, and Filppula put the Red Wings ahead about 6 minutes later with a backhander off a rebound 14 seconds after an interference penalty on Malkin ended.

Detroit rookie Justin Abdelkader scored an insurance goal early in the third, just as he did in Detroit’s 3-1 victory in Game 1. Abdelkader had no previous NHL goals.

Game 3 is Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, the third game in four nights.