Detroit back in the Stanley Cup Finals

DETROIT (AP) - Darren Helm scored 3:58 into overtime to give the
defending champion Detroit Red Wings a 2-1 win over the Chicago
Blackhawks on Wednesday night, setting up a Stanley Cup finals
rematch with Pittsburgh.
Detroit won the Western Conference finals 4-1. The Red Wings and
Penguins, coming off a four-game sweep over Carolina in the East,
will open the championship series Saturday night in Detroit.
The series will start nearly a week ahead of schedule because
NBC and the NHL didn't want a long layoff to stunt the excitement
about the matchup.
Helm sent off a celebration after fanning with a shot attempt
from the edge of the crease and having the puck go in off his
skate.
"We squeaked one by him," Helm said.
Detroit's Dan Cleary opened the scoring 6:08 into the third
period, and Chicago's Patrick Kane tied it with 7:07 left in
regulation with his first goal of the series.
Cristobal Huet, playing for the injured Nikolai Khabibulin, made
44 saves for the Blackhawks. He forced overtime with a spectacular
stop from his stomach, lifting his right leg to knock away Johan
Franzen's shot in the closing seconds.
"He played great," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "He
is to be commended. The game he played kept us in it."
Detroit's Chris Osgood stopped 30 shots.
The Red Wings are matching up with Pittsburgh in what is the
NHL's first Stanley Cup rematch since the Edmonton Oilers beat the
New York Islanders in 1984 after losing to them the previous year.
"To have the opportunity against Pittsburgh should be a lot of
fun," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "There will be a lot of
hype."
The Red Wings, the first defending champion to get back to the
finals since New Jersey in 2001, are trying to become the first
team to repeat since winning the Cup in 1997 and '98.
In the Western Conference finale, both teams were missing key
players.
Detroit was without six-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman
Nicklas Lidstrom; his replacement, Jonathan Ericsson; MVP finalist
Pavel Datsyuk; and four-time Cup-winning forward Kris Draper. In
addition to Khabibulin, Chicago faced elimination without star
forward Martin Havlat.
The Red Wings looked motivated to get off to a good start.
Detroit had 21 shots in the first period, the most it has had in
any period this season, and two power plays but started the second
in a scoreless tie.
Chicago failed to take advantage of having an extra skater three
times in the second period, but it did outshoot the Red Wings
11-10.
The Blackhawks, playing in their first conference final since
losing to Detroit in 1995, showed plenty of resolve after Cleary
scored in the third period.
Kane scored on his first shot of the game, recording a goal for
the first time in the series after scoring eight times in the first
two rounds.