Pivotal point

PITTSBURGH – Simply put, it’s the biggest game of the series.

If the Pittsburgh Penguins can win for a 10th straight time on home ice in the postseason in tonight’s Game 4, the Stanley Cup finals will be tied and the series likely will be a long one. If the Detroit Red Wings emerge with the win, they’ll have a chance to skate for their 11th Cup at Joe Louis Arena on Monday night.

“We know what we have to do,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said following the team’s morning skate on Saturday. “This becomes the biggest game of the series.”

Pittsburgh breathed life back into a series that started with Detroit winning Games 1 and 2 in shutout fashion and a 3-2 victory in Game 3 on Wednesday night. The Red Wings might have carried the play and enjoyed a big advantage in shots (34-24) for a third straight game, but the Pens’ combination of two early goals and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s stellar play was enough to get the job done.

The Red Wings, however, are still feeling confident.

“As much as we’re playing the Penguins and they’re a real good team, we really believe this is about what we do,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “The last game it’s not like they dominated us. They were better than us for 20 minutes, we turned the puck over too many times, our shift length wasn’t as good, the coach didn’t get the players on and off. In the end, the puck went into the net one more time for them.”

The big question surrounding Detroit on Saturday was the availability of net-hound Tomas Holmstrom. He got pitch-forked into the net by Pittsburgh defenseman Hal Gill in the third period and did not return. He’s nursing a leg injury, whether it’s a groin, a hamstring or both is not clear.

Holmstrom participated in most of the team’s morning skate after taking Friday’s practice off, and Babcock said he’d be a game-time decision for Game 4.

“He felt pretty good,” the coach said of Holmstrom. “He’s going to come back for the game tonight, see how he feels and if he’s ready to, he’s playing.”

If Holmstrom can’t go, rugged forward Darren McCarty will be inserted into the lineup and Daniel Cleary will be promoted alongside Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg on Detroit’s top line.

Datsyuk and Zetterberg hope to get the first power-play unit going. Detroit is 2-for-19 in the series and has just one conversion in 13 chances over the last two games. Babcock said his No. 2 unit has been outperforming the No. 1 group, but expects the top-line production to return, too.

“The great thing about good players is they do it right 99 percent of the time,” Babcock said. “And when they have a little drought it’s usually pretty exciting for the coach because you know they’re coming right back.”

Pittsburgh is looking for more production from the second line, headlined by center Evgeni Malkin and veteran winger Petr Sykora. Crosby got the top line going Wednesday night by scoring two goals.

“I thought Malkin played a good game last game,” Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said. “You can’t always judge on just results. I thought he was generating more offense. We saw him play more the way he’s capable of playing compared to the first two games.”

Still, Malkin is without a point in three straight games for the first time since the last three games of the regular season during his rookie year in 2006-07. And the 21-year-old has just one goal and two points in his last seven games overall after getting off to a fast start this postseason.

“For him, too, it’s a process, this is all brand new for him and it’s a lot to demand for those young kids,” Therrien added. “It’s a lot of pressure, it’s totally different from the regular season, it’s totally different from the first round of the playoffs. But I liked the way he played in the last game, he’s going in the right direction and that’s a good sign.”

Therrien is looking for production from not only one line, but also his entire group. The Penguins have been outshot 104-65 in the series and earned just three power plays in each of their last two games. They have eight fewer power plays in the series than Detroit.

“It’s more a process with a young team. The more the series goes on the more we’re going to feel comfortable and we’re going to be better,” Therrien said. “We’ve gotten better every game, our focus has been better every game. We played a good game in Game 3, but tonight we’re expecting to be better as well.”

Detroit had a six-game road winning streak snapped Wednesday night, and it was only the Red Wings’ second loss in their last 16 finals games.

“We have an opportunity here today, we’ve been a real good road team all year,” Babcock said. “We usually respond when things don’t go the way we want them to. And I think we’ve got a humble group that looks after their part. I don’t think we’ve got a lot of people pointing fingers, and that’s what it takes to be successful.”