Carolina looks for an edge at home

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Stanley Cup has visited the top of a 14,000-foot peak and the bottom of Mario Lemieux's swimming pool during its eventful 109-year existence.

The most recognizable sports trophy in North America, it has been touched by tens of thousands, coveted by millions and won by a mere handful.

Until now, though, the bright silver bowl never frequented North Carolina in June for anything other than an airport stopover.

Guess what? If the Carolina Hurricanes keep playing like they did in splitting the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals in Detroit, the cup just might return for a much longer visit this summer.

Game 3 is tonight in Raleigh, and the biggest surprise so far is that regular season champion Detroit hasn't come close to dominating Carolina, which had the 15th best record of the 16 playoff qualifiers.

"Give Carolina credit," Detroit defenseman Fredrik Olausson said. "They have been very disciplined and they're playing well defensively and they really capitalized on some of our mistakes."

The Red Wings were in real danger of going down two games -- on home ice, no less -- until Nicklas Lidstrom and Kris Draper scored 13 seconds apart in the third period of Thursday's series-evening 3-1 victory.

Despite the decisive flurry, it was the Hurricanes who dictated the uneven flow and a muck-and-grind pace that clearly favors them.

The Red Wings, of course, have three 600-goal scorers in Brett Hull, Steve Yzerman and Luc Robitaille, and they could be only one explosive period away from turning the finals into the rout many predicted.

But the longer the Hurricanes force the NHL's most talented team to play their extremely patient, eliminate-all-risks game, the longer the series could last.

"We've played pretty good team defense the first two games and that's something we're going to have to happen every game in this series," Carolina defenseman Sean Hill said Friday. "We don't want to run-and-gun with a team like Detroit. If we can stick to defense first, that's when we're going to be successful."

And, for the next two games, the Hurricanes own the home-ice advantage, too.

"It's going to be wild," goalie Arturs Irbe said. "If people think they saw how crazy crowds can be in Detroit, they might get an eye-opener."

PENGUINS: In good shape and without any physical problems, Mario Lemieux said he will return to Pittsburgh next season.

Lemieux spoke publicly for the first time since early March when he announced a premature end to the 2001-02 season because of a nagging hip injury. He announced his return during the Mario Lemieux Celebrity Golf Tournament at the Club in Nevillewood.

"I just started working out in early May to try to keep in shape," Lemieux said.

Lemieux played 24 games in the regular season after injuring his hip during the preseason in early September.

-- From wire reports