Red Wings get bounces in Game 1 win at home

The Red Wings, decked out in their blood-red sweaters and thirsty for a 12th NHL championship, opened the 2009 finals last night with a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins that was a testament to Detroit's patented perseverance and grit.

Led by goals from ex-Bruins defenseman Brad Stuart, Johan Franzen, and rookie Justin Abdelkader, the ex-Michigan State star who scored the winning goal over Boston College in the NCAA's 2007 Frozen Four title game, the Wings overcame a slight letdown in the second period and grinded their way to the win over the Eastern Conference champions.

The clubs return to Joe Louis Arena tonight for Game 2 of the best-of-seven se ries.

"It's a race to four wins," said Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. "They got one and we have to come back [tonight]. Did we have a chance to get the lead in the second period? We certainly did."

But no matter how well the Penguins played in spurts and stretches, the underlying truth was that they never led, never really cornered the defending champs. After Stuart scored the go-ahead goal, 1-0, with 13:38 gone in the first, the best the Penguins could do was knot it, 1-1, when Ruslan Fedotenko swept in and potted a backhander after Pittsburgh star Evgeni Malkin unloaded a blistering slapper on Wings goalie Chris Osgood. As Osgood struggled to find the puck, Fedotenko pounced and scored.

"We are playing a good team," said Bylsma. "They are a team that can capitalize, and they play well when they are ahead."

In the second, the Penguins missed a prime opportunity to move ahead at 3:25 when Osgood turned back Malkin on a break-in that began when he picked off a puck just inside his defensive zone. The Penguins then squandered back-to-back power plays. Yes, they played well and gained traction and confidence through the second period. But they couldn't prove it by the scoreboard, nor could they get the Wings to back off their ever-grinding approach.

Even worse, after playing such a strong middle period, they saw all their good work come tumbling down when Franzen potted the 2-1 lead with 58 seconds to go before the intermission. Stuart's goal for the 1-0 lead was a fluke, a wide shot that bounced off the rear boards and then ricocheted in off the back of goalie Marc Andre-Fleury's right skate. Franzen's goal was also weird, a shot from behind the goal line that also deflected in off the goalie's backside, after Fleury felt compelled to go belly-down in the crease with the action fast and furious around his cage.

"In this building the boards are wild," explained veteran Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom. "It was really huge for us to come into the room after the second period with the lead."

The Penguins didn't fold under the weight of lost traction, but they weren't as good or feisty in the third period, especially so when Abdelkader popped in the 3-1 lead only 2:46 after intermission. Fed a pass by Ville Leino, Abdelkader was turned back on his first shot from the right faceoff circle. When the puck came back to him on the fly, he gloved it, dropped it, then popped his return shot to the top left corner. In the process, Jordan Staal, who should have tied up Abdelkader, lost sight of the puck and was left standing clueless on the successful follow-up.

The Penguins were at their weakest on faceoffs. They lost an astounding 71 percent (39 of 55), only playing into the hands and sticks of the Wings, perhaps the league's best puck-control team. Constantly giving them the puck is a recipe for disaster.

Had Malkin converted on his breakaway at the start of the second, the night could have been vastly different. But such has been the lament of countless visiting teams at the Joe in recent years. Soon after that failed attempt, the Penguins went on back-to-back power plays, only to have both man-advantages snuffed out by Detroit's efficient penalty killers. What if they could have done a better job at the faceoff dots? What if Fleury had been sharper on those weird pucks that bounced in off his backside?

What-ifs became so-whats.

"So, tonight we got some breaks," said Wings coach Mike Babcock, now with 29 postseason victories the last two years. "But I always believe when you're at the net you've got a chance to get some breaks."

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com.