PITTSBURGH, Pa – The never say die Pittsburgh Penguins nearly rallied back from a two-goal deficit with less than two minutes to play in Game 6, but in the end the Detroit Red Wings claimed the eleventh Stanley Cup in franchise history with a 3-2 win.
Detroit jumped ahead in the contest by a 2-0 margin and reclaimed a two-goal lead after giving up a goal in the second period. Thanks to a third period goal by Conn Smythe Trophy winner Henrik Zetterberg and a stifling defense which limited the Penguins to only a single shot on goal for the
Photos courtesy of the NHL and the Detroit Red Wings
That all changed when center Jiri Hudler hooked Pittsburgh’s Jordan Staal at the 18:13 mark of the final period. The penalty allowed Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien to pull goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for an extra attacker and the Penguins quickly converted on the six-on-four advantage. The score came twenty seconds after Sidney Crosby won the initial face-off and Detroit could never clear.
Sergei Gonchar, who played in Game 6 after being doubtful due to a crash into the boards in Game 5, wristed the puck on the Detroit goal and Marian Hossa deflected the puck in past Detroit netminder Chris Osgood. With just under a minute and a half remaining in the game Pittsburgh removed Fleury as soon as possible after the center ice face-off and attacked the Red Wings in an attempt to force overtime. They were nearly successful as Hossa nearly scored his second of the game when he poked the puck across the crease as time expired in the game.
“Yeah, you know, we were happy we had the two-goal lead,” said Zetterberg. “But when they scored the second one, we knew it was going to be tight all the way to the end. When they had a chance, I don’t know how many seconds was left, but when I saw the puck behind the net, and I looked up and it was 00:00 on the game clock, I was a pretty happy man.”
Despite all the excitement at the end of the contest, the Red Wings were in control nearly the entire game as they converted on a power play early in the contest. Brian Rafalski scored a power play goal at the 5:03 mark with Darryl Sydor in the penalty box for interference. After several failed attempts to clear by the Penguins, Rafalski picked up the puck on top of
Photos courtesy of the NHL and the Detroit Red Wings
Shortly after Rafalski’s goal the Penguins had a prime opportunity to tie the contest when they were the beneficiaries of a five-on-three situation as Detroit’s Kris Draper and Dallas Drake were assessed penalties within 27 seconds of each other. But just as they had in Game 4 the Red Wings were able to kill off the two-man disadvantage with relative ease.
Detroit doubled their lead on a poor play by the Pittsburgh defense. Detroit’s Mikael Samuelsson fired a relatively harmless shot on goal and Fleury gave up a large rebound which was immediately backhanded into the goal by an unchecked Valtteri Filppula.
Even though they had an opportunity to fold at this time the Penguins battled back. An interference call on Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk put Pittsburgh on power play once more and this time Pittsburgh would not squander the advantage as Evgeni Malkin scored his first of the Finals at the 15:26 mark of the second. Malkin was setup by Sidney Crosby at the left face-off circle and the young Russian fired a bullet between Osgood’s legs for the score.
Zetterberg provided the Red Wings with an insurance goal that wound up being cashed in at the end of the evening when his shot leaked through Fleury and was squeezed into the goal as the goaltender tried to freeze the puck. The Swedish winger used Gonchar as a screen and fired a wrist shot which Fleury initially stopped. However the puck broke free and sat behind Fleury for a few seconds. Once the goaltender realized he was not in control of the puck he leaned backward to freeze it, but his weight directed the puck into the goal.
For Pittsburgh it was a disappointing end to a series which they let slip away in the first two games in Detroit but rallied to put the series in doubt.
“Obviously, we were really nervous in our first game,” said Therrien. “They were comfortable and with good reason; it’s a lot to demand of those young kids to play in a Stanley Cup Final. I thought we learned quick, because after Game 3 we started to play our game. They were tight games, could go both ways. Tonight, this game could have gone both ways as well. You learn a lot in those situations. And that’s going to make us stronger in the future.”
Notes
Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom became the first European trained captain to lead a team to a Stanley Cup. The stereotype of European players not having what it takes to win in the Stanley Cup playoffs took a further beating when Zetterberg became only the second European player (Lidstrom was the first) to win the Conn Smythe Award.
“It’s a great feeling (to see Lidstrom holding the Stanley Cup as captain) there’s been a lot of talk about that throughout the years,” said Zetterberg. “It’s great to see him lifting the Cup and with the “C” on his chest. It means so much for the team and the organization. He’s bringing it every night. He’s probably our best player every night. I’m really happy for him and as I say, it was a great feeling seeing him lift that Cup.”
“It’s something I’m very proud of,” said Lidstrom. “I’ve been over here for a long time. I watched Steve Yzerman hoist it for three times in the past, and I’m very proud of being the first European. I’m very proud of being a captain of the Red Wings. (There is) so much history with the team and great tradition and we see some of the older players coming through, so I’m very proud to be the captain. I’m very proud to finally be able to win the Stanley Cup, too.”
Photos courtesy of the NHL and the Detroit Red Wings
It has been a recent tradition for the captain to hand the Stanley Cup to a player who has dedicated themselves to the sport, but has yet to win the Cup before. This year’s recipient was Dallas Drake.
“ I started thinking about it actually in the first round. I didn’t tell anyone about it. But I started thinking about if we were to go the whole way, who should be the guy I gave it to first,” said Lidstrom. “And looking at all the players on our team, Dallas is one of the first ones I played with. He came in the year after I did. He’s been in the League for 16 years. He had a long, good career. And he had never been to the Final before. So it felt natural to me to give it to him for all the effort and hours and everything he’s put into the game, and not having a chance to hoist a Cup yet.”
Osgood seconded Lidstrom’s statement on national TV in the United States when he told everyone watching about how Drake had done so much for him when they both played in St. Louis.
Mark Hartigan is a member of the Stanley Cup-winning club for a second consecutive season. Hartigan joined the Red Wings from the Anaheim Ducks during the off-season as a free agent.
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