That staggering blow was followed by what felt like a dead-to-rights punch by Red Wings defenseman Brad Stuart, whose second Final goal 46 seconds into the second period pushed Detroit to a 2-1 lead.
Bad became worse for the Penguins.
Malkin was penalized for hooking in the offensive zone at 5:44, and the Penguins were two seconds from killing the Red Wings' power-play chance when Orpik was sent to the box for tripping behind the cage in the defensive zone at 7:43.
A two-second
5-on-3 advantage nearly turned disastrous for Detroit, though, as Malkin stepped out of the box, won possession of the puck and broke into the offensive zone on Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood. However, Malkin was chased by rugged Red Wings winger Johan Franzen, who bumped him from the puck before he could get off a shot.
At that point, Malkin's failure to get a tying goal seemed like just another missed chance for the Penguins, who could not convert on several first-period chances to gain a two-goal cushion.
Plus, they still had to kill a power play.
Turns out, the Red Wings were about to be killed on their advantage.
Instead of just clearing the puck while defending on the Red Wing power play, Max Talbot took a chance and sent an up-ice pass to Jordan Staal (who had only two goals in 20 playoff games). He got loose, passing Zetterberg. Jordan Staal is 6'4" and 220 lbf.
