Wings pound punchless Pens

DETROIT -- It's no surprise the Detroit Red Wings have a Swede to thank for a prime-time performance, but Mikael Samuelsson?

The demoted forward busted out of a slump with 2 goals, and goalie Chris Osgood stifled the Pittsburgh Penguins' young and talented stable of forwards with 19 saves to lift the Red Wings to a 4-0 victory in the opening game of the Stanley Cup finals on Saturday night.

Samuelsson doubled his playoff goal total in the biggest game of his five-season NHL career. He had been dropped to Detroit's third line earlier in the playoffs and had posted only 2 assists since his 2-goal outburst on May 1.

"I just live in the moment," said Samuelsson, who scored 2 goals in 22 games during the 2002-03 season with the Penguins. "We played good as a team. I'm lucky to be the one who scored a couple of goals."

Detroit overpowered goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with a 36-shot barrage. Osgood has two postseason shutouts this season and 12 in his playoff career.

Samuelsson broke a scoreless tie in the second period, picking off an errant pass on the far side of center ice and taking it all the way in with 6:59 remaining.

"Sammy is kind of a streak guy," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "When he scores he feels good about himself."