Seems like old time; Red Wings grab 2-0 Cup lead over Pens for 2nd straight year

Repeat: Wings take 2-0 lead over Pens in rematch

DETROIT — The Red Wings found a perfect way to move halfway to a repeat — beat the Pittsburgh Penguins back-to-back.

So much for Detroit being old, beaten down and needing a break. The Red Wings topped the Penguins 3-1 in Game 2 of the finals Sunday night and are two wins from holding onto the Stanley Cup.

Just as they did last year in winning the title for the 11th time and fourth in 11 seasons, the Red Wings took the first two games from the Penguins at home. This year posed a new challenge, sweeping a pair on consecutive nights three days after finishing the Western Conference finals.

“It’s hurt us. Don’t kid yourself,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “I thought we were exhausted out there. It’s amazing what will does for you.

“We found a way to win two games, but we haven’t been as good as we’re capable of being.”

Rookie defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, who watched the Western Conference finale Wednesday night in the dressing room hours after having his appendix removed, scored the tying goal for Detroit in the second period. He missed one game and returned to the lineup Saturday.

“Just a couple years ago, it took people a month to recover,” the 25-year-old Ericsson said. “It took me three days.”

Valtteri Filppula added the go-ahead tally 6:08 later, and Justin Abdelkader scored his second of the series in the third. The Red Wings left the ice in front of their cheering, towel-waving fans and headed for Pittsburgh with another commanding lead.

Game 3 is Tuesday night, and the odds favor the Red Wings’ quest to become the NHL’s first repeat champion since they did it in 1997 and ‘98. Teams that win Games 1 and 2 at home have captured the Cup 31 of 32 times.

Frustration boiled over for Pittsburgh with 18.2 seconds left, when Max Talbot stuck his stick in goalie Chris Osgood’s midsection after he made his 31st save. That led to a fight between Evgeni Malkin and Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg that left both players’ jerseys on the ice.

Malkin was subject to a one-game suspension for being assessed in the final 5 minutes, but that punishment was quickly rescinded by league disciplinarian Colin Campbell.

“None of the criteria in this rule applied,” Campbell said in a statement. “Suspensions are applied under this rule when a team attempts to send a message in the last five minutes by having a player instigate a fight. A suspension could also be applied when a player seeks retribution for a prior incident. Neither was the case here.”

The Penguins, who dropped the opener 3-1 on Saturday night, played better in this two-game set compared to a year ago when the finals were new to them.

Malkin had a strong first period and staked Pittsburgh to an early 1-0 lead. It just wasn’t enough as Detroit — especially Zetterberg — bottled up captain Sidney Crosby and kept him pointless for the second straight night.

“In each of the first two games we have been able to play in the offensive zone for periods of time,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “We’ve been able to get shots, been able to outshoot a good Detroit team, but they’ve been able to get the timely goals.

“As a result they’ve got two wins.”

Crosby sent a perfect feed from behind the net to Bill Guerin, whose bid to tie it in the second was foiled when the puck struck the inside of the left post. Crosby was denied by the left post at the other end, less than 2 minutes into the third, a no-goal confirmed by video replay.

Crosby let out a disgusted spit from the bench as the announcement was made.

Just over a minute later, Abdelkader sealed the win with his second NHL goal and second in two nights. Not bad for a rookie who hails from Michigan.

Abdelkader stayed with the bounding puck while guarded by Rob Scuderi and took a whack at it — sending a shot fluttering past Marc-Andre Fleury’s glove 2:47 into the third.

Osgood outplayed Fleury again in earning his 73rd NHL playoff victory, eighth on the career list.

Ericsson tied it 1-1 at 4:21 of the second after Darren Helm won a faceoff in the Pittsburgh end.

Just 14 seconds after Malkin left the penalty box, Filppula backhanded in a rebound of Marian Hossa’s shot — with Tomas Holmstrom in front — with 9:31 remaining.

After shutting out the Penguins by a combined 7-0 score in the first two games of last year’s finals, the nicked-up Red Wings bent but didn’t break. And they did it again without injured forwards Pavel Datsyuk, their leading scorer in the regular season, and four-time champion Kris Draper.

The Penguins needed nearly 7 minutes before Kris Letang recorded the team’s first shot, but Pittsburgh finished the period with a flourish — outshooting the Red Wings 9-0 to close the frame.

They took advantage when Niklas Kronwall was sent off for cross-checking Talbot, the only penalty called in the first.

Malkin, the NHL’s regular-season scoring champion — and playoff leader with 30 points — let go a drive that was batted in the air by defenseman Brad Stuart and past Osgood with 3:10 left in the period. That gave him seven goals in six games and 13 during the postseason, one behind Crosby for the league lead.