Home Ice Makes Difference in Game 3

Of course... the game I can't watch, the Penguins make a game of it and eventually won, 3-2, to bring the Penguins back into the Stanley Cup Finals. The highlights were something else. The Penguins really came out with a lot of energy and made sure there was nothing left on the ice, as they hit more, skated faster and eventually scored their first goals of these Finals.

Even with five goals in Game 3, the pool really didn't benefit and nothing really changed in the standings.

An unlikely hero took away the bonus point from the pool to win the game for Pittsburgh. Adam Hall (non-pool) banked a shot from behind the net midway through the third period and it stood up to be the winner. It was only Hall's second goal of the playoffs, but it couldn't have come at a better time. The fourth line for the Penguins have been key in a lot of the team's wins in this post-season and they don't get enough credit, if you were to add up their contribution to the scoring in critical times.

All eyes were on Sidney Crosby (Box 13) on Wednesday night and he didn't disappoint the hometown crowd. Crosby finally got his team on the board, late in the first period and then added a power play marker in the second period to take control of the game. Crosby was joined on top of the pool scoring race by Marian Hossa (Box 15), who had two assists in the game and Marc-Andre Fleury (Box 24), who earned his first win in the Finals.

For the Red Wings, Nicklas Lidstrom (Box 8) and Niklas Kronwall (Box 10) had assists in game and were the only Detroit players to make a difference to the top six of the standings.

Changes were needed to be made in the Penguins line-up, so the coaching staff scratched Kristopher Letang (Box 23) for playoff veteran, Darryl Sydor (non-pool) for Game 3. With the win, Letang likely won't figure into Game 4 to keep Sydor's experience in the line-up.



Game 4 will go on Saturday night, broadcast on CBC with a puck drop at 6:10pm MT.