The Detroit Red Wings have shut down the scoring punch of the young Pittsburgh Penguins in the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals. The Penguins were held to just 41 shots in the two games, and Chris Osgood has back-to-back shutouts to improve to 12-2 since taking over for Dominik Hasek in Game 4 of Detroit’s first-round matchup with Nashville.

Osgood, who has a 1.38 GAA and .939 save percentage in 15 postseason games, is the fourth goaltender in NHL history to post consecutive shutouts in Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup finals. The 35-year-old veteran is the first since New Jersey's Martin Brodeur turned in a pair of 3-0 home victories over Anaheim to start the 2003 finals.

Consecutive Shutouts to Open a Stanley Cup Finals

1926 Clint Benedict (Montreal Maroons). . . . . . . . . .vs. Victoria Cougars
1945 Frank McCool (Toronto Maple Leafs). . . . . . . . .vs. Detroit Red Wings
2003 Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils). . . . . . . . . vs. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
2008 Chris Osgood (Detroit Red Wings). . . . . . . . . . .vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Clint Benedict, a Hall of Fame goaltender, was one of the earliest stars among the league’s netminders. In leading the Montreal Maroons to the Stanley Cup championship in 1926, Benedict blanked the Victoria Cougars three times in four games -- including the first two contests. When the Maroons secured the Cup in the fourth game, Benedict became the first NHL goalie to win titles with two different teams. He also won with the Ottawa Senators in 1920, ’21 and ’23.

Benedict also may be the first NHL goaltender to wear a mask. After taking a shot to the face in February 1930, he donned a leather mask with an oversized nose and some padding around the mouth and forehead. He didn’t stick with it, though, and his career ended a short time later after taking a shot to the throat.

With Hall of Fame goalie Turk Broda serving in the military, Toronto rookie Frank McCool set a record of 193 scoreless minutes in the 1945 Stanley Cup finals. He blanked Detroit by scores of 1-0, 2-0 and 1-0, but the Red Wings came roaring back to win the next three games. Toronto won Game 7, 4-3, as McCool finished with four playoff shutouts in 13 games to complete one of the finest rookie seasons in NHL history.

Nicknamed “Ulcers” for his nervous manner, McCool held out the following year. He played in just 22 games before Broda returned from military duty, and McCool never played in the NHL again.

In 2003, future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur shut out Anaheim by identical 3-0 scores in Games 1 and 2 of the finals. The Ducks roared back to win the next two games at home, making it a best-of-three series. Despite being held scoreless in the first two contests, the Ducks pushed the series to seven games, but Brodeur stopped 24 shots for another 3-0 win and his third shutout of the series in Game 7.

So, Benedict, McCool and Brodeur all recorded a third shutout en route to winning the Cup. Osgood has at least two cracks at matching the others, but he’s probably more interested in following the path of the 31 teams that have won the first two games of the finals at home. Thirty have captured the Cup.

The next step for Osgood and the Red Wings is to beat Pittsburgh at home, where the Penguins haven’t lost a game since Feb. 24. Going into Wednesday night’s Game 3, the Pens have won 16 straight at Mellon Arena.