Abdelkader scores again as Red Wings take 2-0 series lead

It’s just a little bit of déjà vu for the Detroit Red Wings — in more ways than one.

One year after facing off against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final, the two are playing each other again this year. And one night after winning the series opener 3-1, the Red Wings beat the Penguins again by a 3-1 score.

Staying true to the déjà vu theme, Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader scored the third goal of the game after doing the same in Game 1, icing Pittsburgh’s chances.

Abdelkader — who scored the game-winning goal for MSU in the 2007 national championship game — intercepted a neutral ice pass in the third period and appeared to lose control of the puck as he attempted to take on two Pittsburgh defenders. But Abdelkader took a whack at a bouncing puck above the left circle and sent it cross-ice above Fleury’s glove for the goal.

Both teams nearly entered the first intermission in a scoreless tie, but a scramble in front of the Red Wings net put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0 with 3:10 left in the opening frame. Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood flailed around in the crease but never could recover his footing, and Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart accidentally knocked the puck from mid-air into his own net. Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin received credit for the goal.

The Red Wings started off the second period with an ambush of shots, and got one to go in the net early in the period to knot the game at 1-1 just 4:21 into the period. Forward Darren Helm drew the face-off in the right circle of the Pittsburgh zone back to defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, who used a screen by Helm and slapped a bullet past Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

Red Wings forward Marian Hossa helped Detroit score its second goal, as he forced a turnover in the Penguins zone to maintain offensive pressure. Hossa took a shot on net with forward Tomas Holmstrom creating traffic in front, falling over with Fleury. Detroit forward Valtreri Filppula collected the rebound and threw a blind backhanded shot at the net, scoring top shelf to give Detroit a 2-1 advantage with 9:31 remaining in the second period.

Things got testy in the final 30 seconds as Malkin went after Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg following a whistle. Both got five-minute majors for fighting while Malkin was tagged with the instigator penalty and a game misconduct.