With a hard fought 2-1 road win over the Penguins in Game Four, the Red Wings are a win away from winning the Stanley Cup. A hotly contested game which saw each team with a goal after 40 minutes was decided by a superior experienced Detroit club who carried the play to their younger opponent in the third.

Off a Pittsburgh turnover, Jiri Hudler’s backhander trickled through Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Wings their first lead of the night. They had trailed 1-0 early on a Marian Hossa power play goal before captain Nick Lidstrom tied it following a power play. The Pens’ failure to clear the zone would comeback to haunt them as this time, the team which entered with a perfect 9-0 mark on home ice couldn’t comeback.

Even a two-man advantage couldn’t get the game knotted. Instead, outstanding penalty killing work by Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall and Lidstrom allowed the Wings to get out unscathed. In particular, Zetterberg’s doggedness was unbelievable. His anticipation on the backcheck denied Sidney Crosby a pointblank opportunity to tie it. But the worthy Selke candidate wasn’t done stealing the puck at the blueline while generating a shorthanded chance killing precious time. The Swede’s defensive work was something to behold as were his teammates, who did an excellent job protecting the lead.

Detroit outshot Pittsburgh 9-6 in the final stanza limiting their effectiveness. Evgeni Malkin couldn’t generate much and most of the Pens’ chances came from the perimeter. With Fleury pulled for an extra attacker giving a desperate Pitt club a 6-on-4, the Wings dug in getting in the path of shots and clearing the zone.

The Pens’ last gasp came in the final seconds when a puck nearly came to a wide open player but never got there due to Detroit’s pesky D allowing the Original Six club to go home Monday with a chance to wrap up the series and Cup back home.

As the buzzer sounded, a flustered Crosby had words for Zetterberg as he and teammates shrugged it off with ease celebrating their big Game Four victory which put them up 3-1.

The Cup will be in the building at Motown a couple of days from now.

It’s worth noting that the defensive work by Lidstrom and D partner Brian Rafalski was outstanding. They were just dominant in their zone controlling things and keeping the Pens’ forecheck at bay. As NBC guru Pierre McGuire noted at the conclusion, Mike Babcock did a great job running the bench. Maybe the experience of being there before rubbed off. He coached the Ducks when they lost to the Devils five years prior.

It should be interesting to see how the Pens respond to facing elimination with so much at stake. They haven’t been put in this predicament all postseason. Meanwhile, the Wings know a thing or two about leaving the door slightly ajar for opponents as was evidenced last round when they allowed the Stars to win two straight before finishing them off in Game Six.

We’ll see what happens.