Malkin tops Three Stars for Game 3

1. Evgeni Malkin, Penguins -- Now this was the big horse that everyone's been waiting to see in the Final. Playing to the full potential of his size and skill, Malkin backed off Detroit's defense and carved out huge hunks of space along the boards. That gave him the time to issue the primary assist on the first three Pittsburgh goals, including Sergei Gonchar's winner midway through the third. He now has 11 multi-point games this spring.

2. Henrik Zetterberg, Red Wings -- There were a number of Penguins who deserved recognition on the night, but it was impossible to ignore this superlative two-way performance. When Detroit was creating offensively, Zetterberg was in the middle of it. His first period goal was one of his game-high four shots and he had the primary assist on Johan Franzen's 12th of the playoffs.

3. Max Talbot, Penguins -- Pittsburgh was desperate for some kind of offensive contribution from its depth players, and the gritty Talbot responded to the challenge. He opened the scoring on a wicked one-timer and closed it out with a 90-footer into the empty cage. In between, Talbot made himself known by working hard along the wall and testing Chris Osgood with a pair of quality bids in the frantic third period.