The first 20 minutes saw four goals. Maxime Talbot scored the opener for Pittsburgh on five minutes. But the Red Wings equalized through Henrik Zetterberg some five minutes later, and then went ahead after a powerplay goal Johan Franzen.

But this time the Pens didn’t let Detroit go, as happened in the first two games of the NHL finals. They made it 2-all after a shot from Kristopher Letang.

The second period saw a lot of action, but no goals, and in the third the Penguins finally took the lead.

The goal was organized by the home team’s powerplay group. Malkin passed the puck to Sergey Gonchar at the blue line, and Red Wings net-minder, Chris Osgood, was closed off by the players, fighting for a better position on the crease, and didn’t see the shot of the Russian defender.

Gonchar scored despite playing with an injury he sustained after a rather dirty challenge from Aleksandr Ovechkin in the semi-finals.

The Penguins gave everything they had to keep the 3-2 scoreline till the end, and they managed to make it 4-2 in the dying seconds. Talbot got his second of the night, putting the puck into an empty net after Detroit replaced their keeper.

The score in the series now stands at 2-1, and one has to remember that the Pens started their semi-final against Washington already down 2-0, but eventually progressed to the final series.

Game four will take place in Pittsburgh on June 5.