Detroit Red Wings took the lead in the Stanley Cup series after an epic encounter against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

Igor Larionov slipped through a tired defence in the third overtime period to snatch a 3-2 win on the night and a 2-1 lead in the seven-game series.

It was the third-longest Stanley Cup Finals game in NHL history.

"It's nice to score in the Stanley Cup Final, especially in the third overtime," Larionov said.

"It's huge for me. I think it's the biggest goal of my career."

It was the 41-year-old's first goal in the Stanley Cup and made him the oldest player in finals history to get on the scoresheet.

Josef Vasicek opened the scoring for the Hurricanes at 14:49 of the first period, slipping past Detroit's Steve Duchesne to beat goalie Dominik Hasek from close in.

Detroit tied the score at 5:33 of the second period when Brett Hull dug the puck out of the corner and fed Larionov, who chipped a shot high into Arturs Irbe's net.

Carolina took the lead at 7:34 of the third period when Jeff O'Neill beat Hasek with a high wrist shot to send the sell-out crowd at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena into a frenzy.

Marathon match

But the Hurricanes could not hold on and Hull tied the game at 18:46 of the third period with a deflected shot to send the game into overtime, before Larionov handed Detroit victory.

"It's tough, it's like having two games," Detroit coach Scotty Bowman said of the six-period marathon.

"Both teams played as hard as they could, both teams couldn't have played any harder.

"But I don't think one game carries over to the next in the Stanley Cup play-offs.

"Both teams will be ready to play in the next game."

Game four of the series is in Raleigh on Monday night.