-And Jagr in the "Snoop Dogg" style:

-There are more than a few Red Wings fans here. Henrik Zetterberg:

-Sergei Fedorov:

-Here's a real fan. Gordie Howe No. 9 without a name plate:

-Martin Straka:

-You see fewer and fewer of these any more. Ryan Malone:

-Aleksey Morozov:

-Paul Coffey:

-Rick Tocchet:

-Jarko R__u:

-Tonight's giveaway is a hat:

SECOND PERIOD

19:16: Engelland chops a slapper from the right point. It hits White in front.

18:58: The Penguins get a second power play as Zetterberg hooks up Staal in the right circle of the Penguins' zone. Williams, Kunitz, Malkin Neal and Niskanen. Williams takes the place of Sullivan on the left point.

18:37: After a scramble to the right of the Detroit cage, Kunitz deals a pass to Malkin in the right circle. Malkin snaps off a wrister. Howard makes the save initially but allows a rebound. The puck trickles behind him and glances off the far post. Malkin dives after the puck but can't punch it in. Wow!

18:25: Neal snaps off a wrister from the left wing. Howard eats it up.

17:59: From the top of the slot, Sullivan deals a pass to Malkin in the right circle. Malkin booms a one-timer which hits a body or two in front.

16:58: The Zetterberg minor is killed. The Penguins put plenty of pucks on net.

16:23: Arron Asham gains the offensive zone on the right wing, winds up and fires a slapper. Jonathan Ericsson goes stick on puck an deflects the shot out of play.

12:32: After several stangant minutes of play, Martin blocks up a shot attempt from in tight by Filppula.

11:36: Lidstrom chops a one-timer attempt from above the left circle over the cage.

11:10: Adams forces a backhanded shot on net from the left circle. Howard makes the save. Adams crashes into Howard and dislodges the net after a nudge from behind by Kronwall. No call.

10:52: Datsyuk gains the offensive zone on the right wing and taps a backhanded pass to the left point. xxx throws a heavy wrister on net. Fleury kicks it out with a "thud."

10:42: Kunitz whips a backhander on net from the right wing. Howard eats it up.

9:55: Kennedy throws a wrister on net from the right wing. Howard punches it out.

9:32: Williams whps a wrister from the left circle wide on the near side.

8:48: From the left wing corner, Adams deals a pass to Niskanen at the right point. Despite having a defender in his face, Niskanen tees up a slapper which is off the mark.

7:35: Franzen shoves Kunitz in the back into the board in front of the Red Wigns' bench. No call.

6:27: Cooke winds up and cranks a slapper on net form the left wing. Howard eats it up.

5:45: Krwonwall cranks a slapper from the left point which is off the mark.

5:30: Staal snaps off a wrister from the right circle. Howard fights it off.

5:23: Attendance is announced as 18,592. It is the team's 223rd consecutive sellout.

4:26: Malkin spins around a few defenders in the left circle and chips a little low wrister on net. Howard kicks it out.

3:59: Wow. What skill! Bertuzzi forces Niskanen into a turnover in the left wing corner of the Penguins' zone and deals a backhanded pass to Datsyuk. From the slot, Datsyuk flings bullet of a backhander by the blocker of Fleury. Wow! Who makes that shot? Great effort by Bertuzzi to force that turnover. He gets the only assist. Penguins 1, Red Wings 1.

1:26: After Cooke forces a turnover behind the Detroit net, Malkin corrals the puck on the right wing and cranks a slapper which misses the mark.

1:08: Martin chops a slapper from the left wing. Howard knocks it dead and covers.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 1, Red Wings 1.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-We hate to say it but:

-That was a pretty bland 20 minutes of hockey. Neither team really pressed the issue a great deal. Both teams seem content to sit back and wait for the other to make a mistake.

-There isn't a great deal of visible intensity from either side. This might be a "rivalry" but it's only a rivalry on paper. Any hatred between these two teams from the 2008 or 2009 Stanley Cup finals is long gone.

-There has been plenty of skill on display tonight. It just hasn't equated to a very entertaining game. It's like watching Russia-Sweden in a preliminary game of the World Championships.

-Once again, neither goaltender was tested a great deal.

-The Penguins have an 18-13 lead in shots.

-Malkin leads the game with six.

-Cleary leads the Red Wings with three.

-Martin leads the game with 16:51 of ice time.

-Lidstrom leads the Red Wings with 16:27.

-Faceoffs are tied, 13-13 (50 percent).

-Staal is 6 for 7 (86 percent).

-Zetterberg is 4 for 6 (67 percent).

-Orpik and Kronwall each lead the game with three blocked shots.

THIRD PERIOD

18:51: Those posts are killing Malkin. He races in on net from the right wing and snaps off a wrister to the far side. It squeaks through Howard's gear and clunks off the far post.

16:15: Holmstrom swats a bouncing puck in the slot on net. Fleury fends it off.

15:52: Niskanen chops a slapper from the right point wide on the near side.

15:09: The Red Wings get a chance to take a lead as Niskanen is called for holding Franzen. Staal, Cooke, Martin and Orpik take the ice.

14:45: And Detroit strikes right away. Cooke fails to clear the zone. Datsyuk settles his clearing attempt and deals to Franzen in the left circle. Franzen rips a wrister which beats Fleury over his right shoulder. What a shot! Datsyuk gets the only assist. He's had a heck of a game. Root Sports was on a commercial break during the goal and missed it completely. Inexcusable. Red Wings 2, Penguins 1.

14:03: And the Penguins get a chance to tie the game. Jiri Hudler is called for holding against Neal. Sullivan, Malkin, Niskanen, Neal and Kunitz take the ice.

13:12: Sullivan booms a slapper from the left circle wide of the cage.

13:04: From the right half wall, Malkin deals a pass to Niskanen at the top of the slot. Niskanen booms a one-timer. Howard kicks it out.

12:03: The Hudler minor is killed. The Penguins had a few decent chances that two minutes.

11:50: HUGE SAVE! Filppula coasts in on a partial breakaway down the slot. As Orpik approaches to apply pressure, Filppula snaps off a wrister which Fleury gets a piece with his glove and. Fleury settles the rebound and taps it to Martin.

9:42: Off a drop pass from Franzein, Bertuzzi cracks a slapper from above the left circle. Fleury eats it up.

8:55: Malkin races up the right wing on a play similar to what he scored his goal on. He flings a wrister to the far side. Howard makes the save initially but allows a rebound. Kunitz crashes in looking for a goal but Howard is able to freeze the puck.

7:03: Malkin races into the offensive zone on the right wing, cuts to the slot and is tripped up by Hudler. That's two minutes. Malkin is doing everything he can to tie this game. He came to play tonight. Malkin, Sullivan, Niskanen, Neal and Kunitz take the ice.

5:51: Neal flings a wrister from a bad angle along the goal line on the right wing. Howard boots it out to the left circle. Miller is there for the rebound and whips it down ice on a backhand.

5:12: Martin chops a slapper from the left half wall wide to the far side.

5:00: Just as Hudler's penalty expires, Staal whips a wrister from the slot wide to the left of the net.

4:36: Game. Set. Match. Chris Conner leads a rush up the right wing on a three on two. He holds up in the left circle and deals a pass to Cleary in the slot. Cleary taps the pass by the right skate of a helpless Fleury. What a play. The Penguins' defense was just a mess on that play. Conner did a marvelous job just reading the play. Fire Ray Shero. Conner and Helm get assists. Red Wings 3-1.

2:43: Kenndy pushes the puck up the right wing and is held up by Kronwall in the neutral zone. Kennedy just shoves hm to the ice and Kronwall tumbles backwards with out his lid.

2:04: Conner almos scores again. Conner races up the left wing on a two-on-one with Helm against Niskanen. Niskanen flops down to take away the pass. Conner snaps off a wrister. Fleury makes the save. The rebound sits in the crease for a few seconds before it's played away.

1:18: As Fleury is pulled for an extra attacker, Despres whips a wrister on net from the left circle. Howard eats it up. The Red Wings call a time out to get organized.

1:04: Off a faceoff win, Malkin booms a slapper from teh top of the slot. Howard gloves it with a nice save despite heavy traffic.

0:33: Malkin airmails a slapper from his own zone. Howard boots it away.

0:05: Cleary pushes the puck up the righ wing, gains the offensive zone, cuts to the slot, fends off Malkin and flings the puck into the cage for one of us:

Zetterberg and Kronwall get assists. Red Wings 4-1.

0:00: End of game. Red Wings 4, Red Wings 1.

POSTGAME

-This was a much closer game than the final score would indicate. The Penguins had their chances. They just didn't bury them. Evgeni Malkin put two potential goals off the post. The Red Wings did bury their chances. That's how this game works sometimes. You just get cruddy luck.

-That's not to suggest the Red Wings won this game on a fluke. They earned this win. They played a steady, disciplined game and just kind of waited for the Penguins to make some mistakes. Once they did, the Red Wings pounced on them and scored.

-Evgeni Malkin was the best player in a black jersey tonight. He created so much for the Penguins offensively tonight. It's scary to think how this game could have turned out if he did not play.

-Jimmy Howard said of Malkin: "Every single time he touched the puck, it seemed like something was happening. He’s a great player. There’s no way around it. He makes things happen when he’s out there."

-The best player in any colored jersey tonight was Pavel Datsyuk. He did so many things tonight in all three zones. His pure and simple skill with the puck was disgusting. He might be the only player on earth who could have scored the backhanded goal he scored in the second period. And his defensive abilities as a forward are second to none. That was evident with the play he made to intercept the clearing attempt by Matt Cooke in the second period that led to a power-paly goal for Johan Franzen.

-A bigger contribution from Jordan Staal could have been helpful tonight.

-We have a hard time giving Fleury too much grief over this loss. He was beaten on some beautiful shots and off some bad turnovers by his teammates in his own zone. He stole a goal off Filppula late in regulation which kept his team in this game. He deserved better.

-It's a cliche, but special teams were key. The Red Wings didn't get many chances, but they converted one which led to the game-winning goal. The Penguins had four, including two in the third period, and didn't get a sniff of the net.

-The Penguins had a 26-25 edge in shots.

-Malkin led the game with nine.

-Dan Cleary led the Red Wings with six.

-Paul Martin led the game with 24:36.

-Nicklas Lidstrom led the Red wings with 23:56.

-The Red Wings had a 27-25 edge in faceoffs (52 percent).

-Staal was 12 for 17 (71 percent).

-Zetterberg was 8 for 13 (62 percent).

-Niklas Kronwall and Ian White each led the game with four blocked shots.

-Martin and Brooks Orpik each led the game with three blocked shots.

-Orpik scored his 99th career point.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights: