Pens prevail in triple OT, prolong series

DETROIT - Marc-Andre Fleury did his part last night, making all the routine saves and more than a few memorable stops to put the Detroit Red Wings' planned Stanley Cup celebration on ice for at least a couple more days.

The young Pittsburgh netminder has been outshined by his veteran counterpart, Chris Osgood, for much of the series, but it was the former overall No. 1 pick who stole the spotlight in the Penguins' 4-3, triple-overtime win in Game 5.

Apparently the Penguins goalie and his youthful teammates didn't get the memo about Detroit's plan to celebrate another Cup for the Red Wings.

One game from elimination and playing at Joe Louis Arena - the site of a combined 7-0 whitewash in Games 1 and 2 - Fleury and Co. did what few outside of Western Pennsylvania thought possible.

Petr Sykora's power-play goal 9:57 into the third overtime lifted the Penguins to victory, even though they were outshot, 58-32.

The goal came 34 seconds after Jiri Hudler was sent off for 4 minutes for high-sticking Robert Scuderi, and drawing blood.

With the wild Wings' fans on their feet counting down the seconds to the regulation buzzer, Pittsburgh forced overtime when Maxime Talbot stuffed his own rebound past Osgood with 35 seconds left.

The series shifts to Mellon Arena tomorrow night for Game 6. Two more wins by the Pens, and they will have made history in more than one way, becoming the first team in 66 years to win a Cup after trailing 3-1 in the finals. *