Pittsburgh shots were blocked, passing lanes were closed off, and the puck seemed to be constantly on the sticks of the Red Wings. That is until an interference call was made against Pavel Datsyuk, who protested the penalty all the way to the box.

That set up the goal the Penguins have been waiting for all season, the one from NHL MVP finalist Evgeni Malkin, who hadn’t scored since the clinching game of the Eastern Conference finals.

Malkin, coming off a season in which he had 47 goals and 106 points, had been pointless until he set up Sykora’s overtime goal Monday. This time, Crosby found him in the left circle with a cross-ice feed, and Malkin ripped a shot between Osgood’s pads to cut the deficit in half at 15:26.

Rafalski struck first just 5:03 into the game, giving the Red Wings the critical 1-0 lead — an advantage that proved to be the precursor of the winning team in all but one game.

The Dearborn, Mich., native in his first season with the hometown Red Wings was in line to have the Cup-winning goal when he gave Detroit a 3-2 lead in the third period of Monday’s marathon.

Sykora wrecked those plans, but nothing could deny Rafalski after two failed clearing attempts by Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi. It was the fourth goal of the playoffs for Rafalski, a two-time Cup winner with New Jersey.

Although Malkin got Pittsburgh back in it with a power-play goal, it was a blown 5-on-3 advantage in the first period that really set the tone for the Penguins’ ouster.

With Drake already off for charging, Kris Draper joined him in the box 27 seconds later for roughing. That set up a two-man power play for the second time in the series. Both came with the Penguins down by a goal, and both ended with Detroit’s lead still intact.

Notes: The victory parade is set for Friday. ... Detroit had at least 30 shots in every game of the finals. ... The Penguins failed to reach double digits in shots in the final 13 periods of the finals. ... The Red Wings were 13-1 when scoring first in the playoffs.

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