‘Exhausted’ Red Wings can rest easy

DETROIT -- The Red Wings are tired, beat up, and just two wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup again.

Detroit's foil is the same, the defending champion's method a little different.

For the second straight year, the young Pittsburgh Penguins came to Joe Louis Arena to kick off the Stanley Cup Finals. And just like in 2008, they're heading home down 2-0. The Red Wings topped the Penguins 3-1 on Sunday, giving them matching wins on consecutive nights as they pursue a repeat of their title.

"Playing back to backs and saying we'd be up 2-0, we'd be ecstatic," said Chris Osgood, who made 31 saves. "We still believe we can play better, and we know we'll have to in Pittsburgh."

Whether the games are spaced out or on top of each other, the Red Wings seem to have all the answers. Detroit can rest today before playing road games Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Sure, the Penguins aren't as scared as they were in their Finals debut last year, and, yes, they are younger and were more rested than their championship-laden opponents. Still, they couldn't make a dent.

"It's not good," captain Sidney Crosby said, "but at the same time, it shows us our game can be successful. If we keep playing the same way, we're going to come out on the right side of things. We would have liked to have different results, but that's playoff hockey."

The Red Wings are halfway to their 12th title and fifth in 12 seasons despite the condensed schedule.

"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 West finale Wednesday in the dressing room hours after having his appendix removed, scored the tying goal for Detroit in the second period. He returned to the lineup Saturday.

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.

Frustration boiled over for Pittsburgh with 18.2 seconds left, when Max Talbot stuck his stick in Osgood's midsection after a save. That led to a fight between Evgeni Malkin and Henrik Zetterberg that left both players' jerseys on the ice.

Malkin was subject to a one-game suspension because the incident occurred in the final five minutes, but that punishment was quickly rescinded by league disciplinarian Colin Campbell.