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Playoff Main Page | Cup Finals Schedule
PENGUINS WIN CUP GAME 7: PIT 2 DET 1
JUNE 12, 2009 -- DETROIT -- Led by two goals by depth charge forward Maxime Talbot, his third and fourth of the Stanley Cup Final, the Pittsburgh Penguins captured their third Stanley Cup Championship, beating the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at Joe Louis Arena Friday night.
"They found a way to win," said Babcock. "It was a battle of will and they won." Bravo, NHL. The Stanley Cup Final, after winning the television ratings war five of six nights this season, was an unprecedented success. In a truly classic series, the Pittsburgh Penguins officially ushered in the Sidney Crosby era by defeating the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on the road in game 7 to capture their first Stanley Cup since 1992. Crosby became the youngest team captain in history to hoist the famed silver chalice. Talbot opened the scoring at 1:13 of the second period, after Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart turned the puck over to the left of goaltender Chris Osgood, who Talbot beat on a low shot through the pads. At 10:07, Talbot broke into the Detroit zone in a two-on-one rush and bore down on a wrist shot that beat Osgood high to the glove side. Talbot's goal, his fourth of the series and eighth of the Cup Final turned out to be the series winner. Detroit held firm and came storming back late in the second. In the third period, the Wings dominated play as they desperately tried to tie the game. The Wings outshot the Penguins 7-1 in the third as Pittsburgh tried to hang on, which they did, effectively limiting Detroit's opportunities in Pittsburgh's slot in front of Fleury. At 13:53 of the third period, Jon
Ericsson of Detroit beat Fleury to close the gap to 2-1. Nik Kronwall
hit the crossbar a few minutes later, and finally, with just 1.1 seconds
remaining, Fleury stoned Nick Lidstrom with a sprawling save to seal the
championship. BUCKING HISTORY: The Penguins join the 94-95 Devils and 96-97 Red Wings as only the third club since the NHL went to East/West conferences that a team finishing lower than 2nd in its conference has won a Cup. 12 of the last 15 winners have finished 1st or 2nd in their conference. CONN SMYTHE TROPHY: EVGENI MALKIN
STATS:
SOUR GRAPES OR DID SID THE KID ERR? TSN is reporting that Sidney Crosby didn't shake hands with key Wings: "Nick was waiting and waiting, and Crosby didn't come over to shake his hand," Draper told an Associated Press reporter a couple hours later as he was leaving Joe Louis Arena. "That's ridiculous, especially as their captain, and make sure you write that I said that!" GAMES 1-6: GAME 6: PIT 2 DET 1 DET: Draper, K. (08:01 in 3rd) Defenseman Rob Scuderi saved the Pittsburgh Penguins from a late Detroit flurry to preserve a 2-1 victory, forcing a deciding game seven Friday at Joe Louis Arena. Scuderi swiped a puck from the crease, then stopped another on behalf of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury toward the end of the game. Scuderi's emergence as hero punctuated a Penguins performance that featured contributions from depth players as Tyler Kennedy, a third-line wing, scored the game winner at 5:35 of the third, while shutdown center Jordan Staal opened the scoring for the Penguins. Kris Draper made it close at 8:01 of the third period, but Fleury was spectacular and held off the Wings, who would have won the Stanley Cup had they come back. After committing no penalties until midway through the third, penalties to Evgeni Malkin and Bill Guerin threatened to sting the Pens, but they held firm, killing both of Detroit's man advantage opportunities. Shots: PIT 31 DET 26. Power play: Both teams 0-2. GAME 5: DET 5 PIT 0 DET: Cleary, D. (13:32 in 1st), Filppula, V. (01:44 in 2nd), Kronwall, N. (PPG, 06:11 in 2nd), Rafalski, B. (PPG, 08:26 in 2nd), Zetterberg, H. (PPG, 15:40 in 2nd)
With four second period goals, including three on the power play, the Detroit Red Wings stormed back to take a 3-2 lead. Tuesday night, the Wings will have a chance to win their fifth Stanley Cup since 1997, the 12th in franchise history. The Penguins outshot the Wings 10-8 in the first period, but failed to score. Dan Cleary scored for Detroit at 13:32 to put Detroit up, 1-0. In the second, Pittsburgh took penalties, looking frustrated, and the Wings pounced. The Pens had been 4-9 on the power play entering game five, but the Wings took full advantage of Penguin frustration, going 3-9 with the man advantage. GAME 4: PIT 4 DET 2 PIT: Malkin, E. (PPG, 02:39 in 1st),
Staal, J. (SHG, 08:35 in 2nd), Crosby, S. (10:34 in 2nd), Kennedy, T.
(14:12 in 2nd) GAME 3: PIT 4 DET 2 PIT: Talbot, M. (04:48 in 1st), Letang,
K. (PPG, 15:57 in 1st), Gonchar, S. (PPG, 10:29 in 3rd), Talbot, M. (EN,
19:03 in 3rd) Maxime Talbot opened the scoring for the Penguins, giving them a 1-0 lead early in the first period. Talbot, a depth-charge checking line player who was moved to superstar Evgeni Malkin's line Tuesday, also potted an empty-netter to seal the victory for the Penguins. The Wings had generated many headlines by earning game one and two victories courtesy depth players such as Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm. Talbot's response was just the tonic that Pittsburgh needed as it won a series-saving game. Had the Penguins dropped game three, it would have spelled certain doom, considering that only the 1942 Maple Leafs and 1975 Islanders have ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in an NHL playoff series. Sergei Gonchar broke a 2-2 tie midway through the third period, which proved to be the game winner. Oddly, Pittsburgh outshot Detroit in the first two games, losing both. Tuesday night at home, they were outshot, 29-21, but won this time. Power play: PIT 2-3, DET 1-2. GAME 2: DET 3 PIT 1 DET: Ericsson, J. (04:21 in 2nd),
Filppula, V. (10:29 in 2nd), Abdelkader, J. (02:47 in 3rd) Detroit put some important nails in the coffin of the Pittsburgh Penguins Sunday night, with depth-charge players continuing to contribute offensively. Justin Abdelkader scored at 2:47 of the third period to seal the victory as the Wings withstood the Penguins' efforts to come back. The Penguins led 1-0 on a goal by Evgeni Malkin after a wild scramble in front of Chris Osgood. Brad Stuart, in attempting to swat the puck away, accidentally tipped the puck into the net, which had been touched last by Malkin. The Penguins outshot the Wings 32-26 in game two, after outshooting them 32-30 in game one. It provides evidence that the Pens are keeping pace with Detroit, but the Wings' smart play has depleted the Pens opportunities with the man advantage. In game one, Pittsburgh had two opportunities on the power play, converting neither in a 3-1 loss. In game two, the Penguins converted their power play opportunity late in the first, but the Wings did not commit another penalty the rest of the way. Detroit has yet to score a power play goal, all of its tallies have come at even strength. Marc-Andre Fleury surrendered three goals on 26 shots; Chris Osgood, one on 32. GAME 1: DET 3 PIT 1 DET: Stuart, B. (13:38 in 1st), Franzen,
J. (19:02 in 2nd), Abdelkader, J. (02:46 in 3rd) Justin Abdelkader scored early in the third period to give the Red Wings a 3-1 lead in game one, all they would need to salt away a hard-fought victory over a very confident Penguins team. After starting last season's Cup Final down 2-0, Pittsburgh seemed dedicated to a strong start. The Penguins kept pace with the Red Wings during the first period as Ruslan Fedotenko slammed home an Evgeni Malkin rebound from in close to knot the score at one apiece at 18:37 of the opening frame. Brad Stuart and Johan Franzen scored pure forecheck goals, which both bounced off the end boards and caromed toward Fleury. The Stuart goal bounced off the end boards, then Marc-Andre Fleury's backside, and trickled into the net. "We have to get goals like that," Wings coach Mike Babcock said during the post-game press conference. "It wasn't a clean game. There wasn't a lot of space out there." Franzen scored late in the second period to make the score 2-1 as his shot also went in off of Fleury after hitting the back boards, who had made a good attempt on both goals, only to see the bounce go Detroit's way. In the second, Pittsburgh carried the play but failed to convert on two power plays, and earlier in the second, Chris Osgood made a huge glove save on a Malkin breakaway. Shots: PIT 32, DET 30. Power play: PIT 0-2, DET 0-1.
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"That
was great leadership by you," Detroit Coach Mike Babcock said to 
