PITTSBURGH _ Defeat the top team in NHL? Check. Hand the defending Stanley Cup champions only their fourth home regulation loss of the season? Check.
The Detroit Red Wings wrapped up as good a weekend as they've had all season with a gutsy 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena, a day after beating the NHL-leading Washington Capitals. After an 0-4-1 stretch, the Wings have now beaten two of the best teams in the league.
Goals from Nick Jensen and Steve Ott, 18 saves from Petr Mrazek and two good penalty kills had the Wings leading 2-1 going into the third period. Tomas Tatar connected on a pass from Henrik Zetterberg for a second straight game to score from the slot in the opening minute of the third period. Thomas Vanek maneuvered around the middle and beat Matt Murray at 2:16, but Sidney Crosby replied seven seconds later to halve Detroit's lead to 4-2.
A power play saw the Wings get two shots on goal before an overlapping power play created nearly four straight minutes of man-advantage play. Mrazek denied Phil Kessel just before the Wings faced a third penalty kill. That over with, the Wings went back to attacking, with Andreas Athanasiou banging a puck off the crossbar.
Tatar's high-sticking penalty left the Wings shorthanded again with 4:49 left in regulation, but Ott made a good play to clear the puck and then Frans Nielsen drew a penalty with 48 seconds to go in the Tatar penalty. Luke Glendening polished off the game with an empty-net goal.
Zetterberg's line was its usual dangerous self, from an early tip-in attempt by Anthony Mantha to Zetterberg sliding the puck into the paint on their next shift. Mrazek had to be sharp from the get-go, denying Kessel's backhand off a breakaway.
Frans Nielsen shot just wide after a nice cross-ice pass from Athanasiou as the Wings continued to establish offensive zone time. The Wings turned an Evgeny Malkin giveaway into a goal when Justin Abdelkder and Jensen took off into Pittsburgh's zone and Abdelkader passed to Jensen, who patiently waited for Murray to come out of the paint before burying the puck in an empty net.
The Penguins used a Niklas Kronwall turnover on a Detroit power play to make it 1-1 on a goal from Tom Kuhnhackl. It was Detroit's fourth line that provided the next goal, when Riley Sheahan fed Ott on the right flank and Ott lifted a backhand behind Murray, at 16:29. The Wings outshot the Penguins, 10-9 in the first period.
The Wings continued their good play in the second period, with all four lines getting the puck into Pittsburgh's zone and Mrazek standing big when needed. A highlight save came midway through the game, when Mrazek robbed Nick Bonino with a glove save as Bonino threatened from the bottom of the right circle. That was followed by a quick save on Kessel and then a backhand try by Patric Hornqvist.
Back-to-back penalties forced the Wings to contend with the fifth-best power play in the NHL, with one unit made up of Crosby, Malkin, Kris Letang, Kesssel and Hornqvist. They did so well the first time Darren Helm and Sheahan got short-handed attempts _ Sheahan two, in fact. The Wings finished off the second period with a good shift, with Helm hitting Brian Dumoulin.
