Cup is on the line in Game 7

It’s the game they played on rutted roads while the light faded and their toes grew numb, the scenario they imagined as kids in Slovakia, Sweden, Saskatchewan, Syosset, N.Y., Sverdlovsk, Russia, and Sault Ste. Marie, Canada.

Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, tonight at Joe Louis Arena, between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s a shot at hockey immortality, to have your name inscribed on the Cup to be traced by envious eyes and timid fingertips.

“This is why I play hockey,” Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart said Thursday. “That’s what it’s all about.”

That, and more.

For Marian Hossa, it will either be validation of leaving the Penguins after their loss to the Red Wings in last year’s finals to sign with Detroit or a cruel twist of fate. Asked if it will be the right decision only if the Red Wings win, he insisted not.

“Through the whole season I had a chance to learn lots from the guys here in this dressing room,” said Hossa, who has no goals and three assists in the finals. “I feel pretty fortunate to be in this dressing room.”

Will he feel as fortunate if it doesn’t go in Detroit’s favor?

“To tell you the truth I don’t really think about that right now,” he said, “but so far it’s been a great season.”

For veteran goaltender Chris Osgood, overlooked in three previous Cup triumphs but a candidate for the Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs, this will be a unique moment.

“We’ve been to finals and lost and the playoffs and lost and won Game 7s in overtime and lost games. We’ve been on both ends,” he said. “There’s really nothing we haven’t been through -- except I haven’t been in a Game 7 of the final.”

For Pittsburgh Coach Dan Bylsma, who lost Game 7 to New Jersey in 2003 while playing for the Ducks, tonight’s game means he may be watching a victory ceremony -- in any sport -- for the first time in six years. Then, again, maybe not.

“When they hand out the trophy, I’d just as soon not watch,” he said, “because it brings back some pretty haunting memories about getting close in Game 7.”

On a grander scale, this game is also about whether the Red Wings will extend their dozen years of domination or be stopped by the young Penguins, whose very existence was jeopardized until a lucky lottery draw dropped Sidney Crosby into their laps in 2005.

Every statistic favors the Red Wings. They’re 11-1 at home in the playoffs this spring and the home team has won 12 of 14 Cup finals that have gone to a Game 7 since the NHL introduced the best-of-seven format in 1939.

“We’ve been way better at home, way more comfortable, way quicker, way more assertive,” Detroit Coach Mike Babcock said. “We look forward to that again.”

Crosby, blanked at Joe Louis Arena in the first three games of these finals, had only two assists in three games at Detroit last year. Over two finals the Red Wings are 5-1 against the Penguins at home, outscoring them, 21-6, shutting them out three times and outshooting them, 213-159.

And yet . . .

The Penguins made an impressive stand Tuesday to win Game 6, staying out of the penalty box until the third period and riding strong efforts from shot-blocking defenseman Rob Scuderi and forward Maxime Talbot. They’re the kind of foot soldiers who often shine when finesse players are smothered in tight-checking games.

Crosby, neutralized so well by Henrik Zetterberg, said his struggles in Detroit won’t matter tonight.

“Not when you’re looking at a game this big,” he said. “I don’t think you try to worry about the past too much. . . . It’s one game, and we’ve got to find a way to have our best one.”

Also in their favor is they have on their second line winger Ruslan Fedotenko, who won Game 7 for Tampa Bay in 2004 by scoring both goals in a 2-1 victory over Calgary.

That was a home game. But as could be expected, Fedotenko said home ice won’t matter much to the Penguins tonight simply because they’ve survived this far. “We forced Game 7 and that gave us a chance to win, and right now we’ll take that,” he said.

Fedotenko said he would share his 2004 experience with his teammates today but preferred to keep his thoughts private.

Detroit defenseman Brian Rafalski, a Game 7 winner with New Jersey in the 2003 finals against the Bylsma and the Babcock-coached Ducks, said he spoke to his teammates Thursday and emphasized the importance of getting a good start and scoring the first goal.

“There’s really not too much to say,” he said. “We’ve got some good veterans here. Guys have played so much.

“We’ve had so many different adversities. Especially this year at different times we haven’t played well and this team has always responded. So I’m not worried.”

Nor is Crosby, despite his meager one-goal, three-point production in the first six games.

“To be honest, now’s not the time to think about what could have been goals,” he said. “The only way I’m looking at it is it’s a great opportunity and I’ve got to try to go out there and play my best game in the playoffs.”

And not just in his imagination.

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helene.elliott@latimes.com