Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a series...

2-1, Detroit's series lead has been cut in half as Pittsburgh takes down the Red Wings 3-2. Detroit is still the favorite to win this series, but Pittsburgh has made it more interesting.

Before going to the Pens, I want to talk about Detroit first, because they played a solid game tonight. Detroit probably feels the same way the Pens felt in the first two game, thinking "We played well enough to win, but couldn't get it done." Detroit did two main things right tonight.

First, Detroit played Detroit Red Wing hockey, at least in the first two periods. In the game they outshot Pittsburgh 29-21. Detroit outchanced Pittsburgh for at least most of the game, but they just could not put the puck in the net.

Second, Mike Babcock gets an A for getting his matchup of Zetterberg on Crosby. Every time Crosby was out for a faceoff, the center for Detroit skated almost directly to the bench to get Zetterberg on. Even though Crosby did get an assist tonight, it was on the powerplay where Zetterberg was not directly responsible for Crosby. However, Zetterberg, who was third star of the game, and his line - because everytime Crosby touched the puck, three defenders surrounded him - did an excellent job of neutralizing Crosby minus a few scattered chances.

Now on the Pittsburgh Penguins. They showed in the third period, not only can we play with the Detroit Red Wings, we can dominate the Detroit Red Wings. In that period, the Pens outshot the Wings 10-3, playing like they belong. The Red Wings constantly looked desperate in the third, but not the good desperation - like we must win - but the bad desperation - like oh crap, we're gonna lose.

A couple things that stuck out to me were things I talked about on Sunday night. First, after game 1 one thing to improve was the powerplay. How does 66.7% sound? "When you get an opportunity on the powerplay, you want to make the most of it, and tonight we did that," said captain Sidney Crosby, who had a powerplay assist on the game-winning goal. The Pens went 2-for-3 on the power play. "Special teams are huge this time of year," said defenseman Brooks Orpik after the game. The Pens were able to maintain pressure mainly because they kept possession in the zone. Pittsburgh was able to win faceoffs to keep the puck in the zone and did a great job not letting the puck out, as not to worry how they're going to get the puck back in the zone with the Wings neutral zone trap.

The next thing I'll talk about, I am going to take complete credit for, and not even Vince can take it away from me. The defenesmen played a HUGE role in this game. I talked last entry about using the defensemen rather than putting everything on the forwards below the goaline. But Kris Letang showed that he is the future for the Penguin defense with a couple of key contributions. First, a secondary assist on the first goal where he outstretched to keep the puck in the offensive zone for Max Talbot's first goal. Second, on a great shot through Chris Osgood's five hole to tie the game, and bring both the Pens and the crowd back to life. And who does the game winning goal go to? None other than Sergei Gonchar with a blistering slapshot over Osgood's glove hand. Tonight, the Pens powerplay gets an A+.

In the first period, both goalies gave up two goals with offense galore in the first 20 minutes. For the next two periods. Marc Andre Fleury became a true Stanley Cup Finals goaltender. The Flower, especially in the second period and the third after the go-ahead goal, turned away shot after shot after shot from the defending champs. I'm not defending what Fleury did (or didn't do) in the first two games, but in the final two periods tonight, Marc Andre Fleury showed why the Pens drafted him number 1 overall in 2003.

The Pens played horribly in the second period. "Obviously, we realized it wan't our best period," said defenseman Sergei Gonchar. They give up chance after chance and shot after shot to Detroit, but they came out of the period still tied. This allowed the Pens a chance to win, and Fleury a chance to shine. "We needed a great game from our special teams and our goaltender tonight," said Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma, "and we got them."

Final point, Malkin played like a man possessed. Three assists bumping his totals to a playoff-leading 20 assists and 33 points. After last season's Cup Finals debacle, Malkin has showed up in his biggest way in the playoffs, and surpassed Sidney Crosby as the Penguin's Conn Smythe front runner, if the Pens bring home the Cup. Without out Malkin tonight, this series and game are done.

Personally, I would say overall a good game for the Pens, but not everyone agrees with me. "We definitely could have played better," said Orpik after the game. Even though he believes they stole one tonight, he feels they can play better. I feel deja vu. After the first two games, Detroit was happy with the wins, but felt they could have played better. Now with game 3 in the books, the Pens have turned the tide with winning, but saying they could have played better.

Overall, the Pens got the brakes tonight. Detroit rattled a few off the post. The puck went in the net for Pittsburgh, as the Pens tonight doubled their goal output from the first two games. Hell, the Pens even played with an extra man on the ice for 21 seconds in the game. "With six guys we cycled the puck a little bit," laughed forward Max Talbot, who was the game's first star with two goals. The last two games, the puck bounced in the Red Wings favor, but tonight the Pens were the benefactors.

The Pens put it all together tonight. Great special teams, solid goaltending, dominating the opponent in the third, and the knowing this game was a must win. To be honest, game 4 is also a must win. If Pittsburgh goes down 3-1 to Detroit, it's hard to see them winning three-in-a-row to win the Cup. The series wouldn't be done, but it would be on life support.

But now only down 2-1 with a different team than last year. Game 4 should provide a great 60 minutes - or possibly more with overtime - of hockey between two great teams. Without question the NHL playoffs got it right this season, as these teams are the two best in hockey and are playing like it.

I'll be back Thursday night after game 4 with more on this series. Until then as always keep your head up when you're on the ice, either hit or be hit