Penguins look to turn momentum into Stanley Cup tie

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - The Detroit Red Wings held the series lead but the Pittsburgh Penguins claimed the momentum on Friday as the teams prepared for game four of the Stanley Cup finals.

While Saturday's clash will not decide the Stanley Cup champion, it could prove the turning point in a series that was speeding towards a Detroit rout and now shows signs of veering towards the classic showdown many had predicted.

A Pittsburgh win would send the best-of-seven series back to the Motor City level at 2-2 and everything to play for while a loss would drop the Penguins into a 3-1 hole that few teams in any sport have managed to climb out of to win a title.

After a day off, the teams were back on the ice on Friday for lively practice sessions offering no hint of the immense importance being placed on Saturday's game.

"I don't know much about this momentum thing," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock told reporters. "I'm not a big believer in momentum.

"I just think that you start a new day tomorrow. And they're going to do what they can to prepare and we'll do the same thing and the best team that night is going to win."

After back-to-back crushing shut out wins to open the series, the high-flying Red Wings roared into Pittsburgh looking for a series sweep.

But led by two goals from captain Sidney Crosby the Penguins responded with a gritty 3-2 win in game three to seize the momentum along with jolt of confidence.

That confidence will be bolstered further by another raucous crowd at Mellon Arena where the Penguins are unbeaten in the playoffs.

The oldest arena in the NHL and soon to be demolished and replaced by a new facility, the Igloo has proven an almost impenetrable fortress. With their game three win Pittsburgh improved to 9-0 on home ice in the playoffs and have won 17 straight, counting the final eight games of the regular season.

"It's more about protecting home ice and making sure you take care of things here in your own rink," said Crosby. "We've been playing well here.

"We just need to make sure that our focus is on being strong here. Up to this point, we've played well and we want to make sure we maintain that."

(Editing by Clare Lovell)