No matter, a Red Wings victory on Pittsburgh's home ice would likely be a devastating blow to a young Penguins team that was waxed by a combined 7-0 score in the first two games in Detroit, then needed two Sidney Crosby goals to win 3-2 in Game 3 on Wednesday.

The Penguins are 17-0 at Mellon Arena since Feb. 24, and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury hasn't lost there in six months, going 19-0 since the night before Thanksgiving. Now that's a home-ice advantage.

Pittsburgh has seized on that home-ice domination as the primary reason to think it can even the series despite Detroit's big edge in Games 1 and 2. The Penguins players talk daily about how comfortable they are at home, how their fans motivate them, how their confidence swells whenever they step on that ice.

Coincidentally, their sellout crowd will be the Penguins' 66th in a row at home, appropriate given that co-owner Mario Lemieux wore No. 66 during his Hall of Fame career.

"If feels so great to be at home," forward Max Talbot said Friday. "In the back of your head, you're confident and you're happy to be back in the series. It's more of a mental thing than anything."

Take that away, and the Red Wings may take away the series — and as early as Game 5 on Monday night in Detroit.

"I'm not a big believer in momentum," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said, referring to Pittsburgh's victory in Game 3. "I just think you start a new day."

If the Red Wings win Game 4, the Penguins would have a mathematical chance of winning the Cup, but possibly little else. Only six teams in the finals have forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-1 and only one, the 1942 Maple Leafs against the Red Wings, rallied to win.

The Penguins would also have to win twice in a six-day span in Detroit, something they couldn't do there once last weekend.

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