In a must win basketball game the Detroit Pistons (at home) came away yesterday with a win against Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, to tie the series at two a piece. Detroit's Rip Hamilton and a surprising new hero Antonio McDyess continue to carry the point totals with an ailing Chauncey Billups (hamstring) still trying to gutt it out and contribute.
Across the way, also in Detroit, "Hockey Town" is in full effect as the Detroit Red Wings scored three goals and for the second time in a row, in these Stanley Cup Finals, left the Pittsburg Penguins scoreless.
With first-period goals from Brad Stuart and Tomas Holmstrom and another lockdown defensive effort, the Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 to take a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup finals on Monday night.
The puck-possessing Red Wings again held onto it all night and registered 34 shots. They put the clamps on the Penguins, who have yet to score. After a 19-save effort in a 4-0 series-opening win Saturday, Chris Osgood stopped 22 in a rocking-chair game and earned his third shutout of the playoffs — 13th career.
The often-overlooked Osgood owns the Red Wings record with 50 postseason victories, ahead of Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk, and is closing in on his third Cup with Detroit — two as the starting netminder.
Hot young scorer Evgeni Malkin has disappeared since a hard hit from Philadelphia's Mike Richards in the opener of the East finals. The MVP finalist has one goal and one assist in six games and appears to be tiring at the end of a long season.
Sidney Crosby the other blazzing young Pittsburg scorer, hasn't figured out how to get free of Detroit's top line of Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Holmstrom, and the 20-year-old captain showed frustration as he sipped water from a bottle on the bench.
Game 3 is Wednesday in Pittsburgh, and the Penguins will have to win one of the next two to force a trip back to Motown. Get more Hockey from the AP story, Osgood blanks Pens again