Sidney Crosby may have no goals for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first two games of this Stanley Cup finals, but then again, neither does the Red Wing checking him, the two-way forward Henrik Zetterberg. Zetterberg's neutralization of Crosby has set off a chain reaction of events -- beyond a frustrated Evgeni Malkin starting a fight with Zetterberg at the end of Game 2 -- that are largely responsible for Detroit's 2-0 series lead. Game 3 is Tuesday at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. Foremost is the performance of Detroit's corps of young players, referred to by Red Wings coaches and fans as 'the kids from Grand Rapids.' With the top scorers for each team more or less canceling each other out, the Red Wings' supporting cast has produced in the first two games while Pittsburgh's has not. Forwards Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader and Ville Leino and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, all of whom spent the bulk of the season in the American Hockey League with the Grand Rapids Griffins, have kept the Penguins on their heels with exuberant and industrious work. 'Think about it,' Detroit coach Mike Babcock said after the Red Wings' 3-1 victory Sunday. 'If someone told me at the start of the year that Ericsson, Leino, Abdelkader and Helm would be playing for us, I would've said, 'Yeah, we're at Game 82 finishing off the season.' I wouldn't think we were in the Stanley Cup final.' Abdelkader has two key scores in this series, both third-period insurance goals; he had not scored in his 11 previous NHL games. 'It's happening so fast now, two games in two nights, I haven't even had a chance to think about it,' Abdelkader said Sunday. 'Maybe that's a good thing.' Leino, his fellow rookie wing on the fourth line, is a slick skater and stick handler who scored some highlight-reel goals in the regular season. Helm, who centers the Red Wings' third line, has no goals in his 23-game regular-season career. But he scored twice last spring in Detroit's Stanley Cup run and has three goals this postseason. He was a forechecking machine in the first two games at Joe Louis Arena, throwing a series-high 15 body checks and winning a series-high 69 percent of his faceoffs (22 of 32). On Sunday night, Helm won the draw and screened Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury on the goal that made it 1-1. It was scored by Ericsson. These players are getting a chance because of injuries to Pavel Datsyuk, the Red Wings' Most Valuable Player finalist; Kris Draper, their top faceoff man; and Andreas Lilja, a solid defenseman. Crosby came into the series with 28 points, tied with Malkin atop the playoffs. Despite several chances he had or set up for his teammates, Crosby has no points. 'There's tons of explanations, but the fact is you get quick chances and either you put them in or you don't,' Crosby said after Game 2. 'That's the difference.' With Babcock matching Zetterberg against Crosby, another side effect has developed. Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma, respecting the offensive abilities of Zetterberg and his linemates Johan Franzen and Dan Cleary, has kept his top defensive pairing of Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi on the ice. Problem is, neither defenseman is very good offensively. Crosby thrives when Sergei Gonchar is on the ice with him, but Gonchar is still not 100 percent after sustaining a knee injury in the series against the Washington Capitals last month. Gonchar indicated Monday that he might see more action with Crosby for Game 3, when Bylsma will have the option of making the last personnel changes during faceoffs. 'Being at home with different matchups and a different lineup, it will make everything a little easier,' Gonchar said. 'Maybe that will roll the momentum forward for us.' The Penguins certainly made the right adjustments two series ago, when they fell behind the Capitals after two road losses. Pittsburgh rallied for two straight home wins en route to a seven-game series victory. Now the Penguins face an even more dire situation -- only one of 31 teams that lost their first two games on the road have won the Stanley Cup. But Bylsma said perseverance was the key. 'You can get frustrated with the situations; you can try to divert your attention by talking about referees or bounces or whatever,' Bylsma said. 'But you've got to keep at it. Keep wearing them down. And deal with the emotions and get back to the task at hand, which is Game 3 for us and coming back to our building and holding serve here.' 'We have to be focused on that,' Bylsma added. 'And to be distracted by anything else would take away from what we need to do.' 