NHL PLAYOFFS : Red Wings Defeat Blackhawks, 3-2

Detroit goaltender Mike Vernon spotted the puck coming out of a crowd of players, but there was nothing he could do.

Vernon and his teammates got a break when the puck caromed off the post with about one second to play and the game ended Sunday in a 3-2 victory for the Red Wings, giving them a 2-0 lead over the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference finals.

The Red Wings scored two late goals, including Kris Draper’s with 1 minute 45 seconds remaining.

“I couldn’t see the guy with the puck,” Vernon said. “I was looking for it.”

Tony Amonte fired the shot from near the Chicago blue line. As the puck sailed through the air, Vernon remained frozen outside the crease.

“I knew the shot would be coming,” Vernon said. “I knew I was outside my crease. I was just trying to hold my ground. When I finally saw the puck, I sort of kicked at it with my pad. I missed it.

“I saw it hit the post. Yep, I saw that.”

It marked the first time all season the Blackhawks had failed to hold a lead entering the third period. Chicago was 19-0-0 during the abbreviated season when leading after two periods and 5-0-0 in the playoffs.

But the Blackhawks, who dominated the second period, gave up two third-period goals. Detroit outshot Chicago, 13-3, in the third period and 38-20 for the game.

“We just have to be more assertive,” Chicago forward Joe Murphy said. “We can’t stand around watching all their best players.”

Draper, who had only two goals during the season, scored his third of the playoffs on the rebound of a shot by Nicklas Lidstrom. The puck bounced off goalie Ed Belfour’s glove, right to the stick of Draper.

Belfour was pulled for an extra attacker with 54 seconds left.

“Eddie played a hell of a game,” Chicago Coach Darryl Sutter said. “They had a lot of close-in chances early, and he kept us in the game.”

Chris Chelios and Amonte had unassisted goals for Chicago. Dino Ciccarelli and Doug Brown scored for the Red Wings.

Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-seven series will be played in Chicago on Tuesday and Thursday.

“We know we can come back, because we were down 2-0 to Toronto too,” Sutter said. “And we also know that we could very easily be going home up 2-0 instead of down 2-0.”

Detroit last won the championship in 1955. That 40-year drought is the longest in the NHL. The second longest belongs to the Blackhawks, who last won the Cup in 1961. They defeated the Red Wings in six games in the finals that year.