The Stanley Cup Finals

SI Staff | Jun 14, 2009

The Stanley Cup Finals /

The Stanley Cup Finals

Game 7

With the Penguins' victory, Sidney Crosby, 21, became the youngest Stanley Cup captain in NHL history.

Game 7

Pittsburgh earned their first Stanley Cup trophy since 1992.

Game 7

Pittsburgh Penguins center Maxime Talbot scored both goals against the Red Wings in Game 7.

Game 7

Talbot celebrates the first of his two goals with his Pittsburgh teammates.

Game 6

Ruslan Fedotenko and the Penguins, three days after absorbing a 5-0 beating in Game 5, delivered a clutch defensive effort to stifle Detroit in Game 6.

Game 6

Tyler Kennedy celebrates after scoring what would be the game-winning goal in the third period of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals against Detroit.

Game 6

Marc-Andre Fleury stops Dan Cleary on a breakaway with 1:39 left in regulation. After being yanked in Game 5, Fleury turned in a stellar 25-save performance.

Game 6

Rob Scuderi stopped one shot with his stick. Then, he spread-eagled in perfect butterfly goaltending style -- with Marc-Andre Fleury a little out of position -- to stop a couple other attempts with foot and hand and who knows what else until he got a stoppage in play with just 13.2 seconds left. The Pens held on to win 2-1.

Game 6

Chris Osgood was outstanding once again between the pipes, giving up only two goals on 31 shots and keeping his team alive when it appeared in the second period the Penguins were about to blow the game open.

Game 5

Chris Osgood (right) made made 22 saves for his 15th playoff shutout.

Game 5

Frustration took over for the Penguins, who have been outscored 11-2 in three games at Joe Louis Arena in the series.

Game 4

Evgeni Malkin, enjoying the best postseason since Wayne Gretzky's in 1993, struck first for the Penguins with a power play goal 2:39 into the game. Detroit's Niklas Kronwall had taken the early penalty for tripping Malkin.

Game 4

Rob Scuderi's (left) clearing attempt deep in Pittsburgh's defensive zone was intercepted by Detroit's Darren Helm, who capitalized on the opportunity by scoring an unassisted goal. Helm's goal tied the game at 1-1 late in the first period.

Game 4

Jordan Staal's short-handed goal during back-to-back Detroit power plays started Pittsburgh's comeback, and the Penguins scored three goals in less than 6 minutes of the second period. The 6-foot-4 Staal used his lengthy stride to thread defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski and beat Chris Osgood at 8:35 of the second.

Game 4

Less than a minute after the Penguins finished off killing the second power play, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin--their signature stars--worked a 2-on-1 rush for Crosby's 15th of the playoffs and 30th point.

Game 4

Marc-Andre Fleury, with his second successive excellent game, made 37 saves. Fleury has been a key component in the Penguins winning Games 3 and 4 against Detroit to tie the series up at 2-2. He has a 2.00 GAA and .941 save percentage in those two games.

Game 3

Kris Letang's first-period goal gave the Pens an early 2-0 lead. The Wings would answer with two quick goals of their own, tying the game 2-2 at the end of the first period.

Game 3

Sidney Crosby was once again a marked man, but he picked up his first point of the Finals with a third-period assist.

Game 3

Evgeni Malkin made waves at the end of Game 2 by getting into a scrum with Wings' center Henrik Zetterberg. In Game 3 he took his revenge by notching three assists.

Game 3

Maxime Talbot scored the Pens' first goal of the game, and later added an empty-netter to seal Game 3.

Game 2

Chris Osgood took this shot in the breadbasket for one of his 31 saves as the Wings took Game 2 at Joe Louis Arena.

Game 2

For the second straight game, Brian Rafalski (28) and company held Sidney Crosby without a point.

Game 2

Down 2-0 in the series, the Penguins were left searching for answers. For those searching for shameless product placement, look no further.

Game 2

Red Wings fans had a lot to celebrate in Game 2 ... including the tradition of the playoff beard.

Game 2

The bad blood between the teams truly started near the end of Game 2, when Evgeni Malkin (left) and Henrik Zetterberg got into a scrum near the Wings' goal.

Game 1

Marc-Andre Fleury made this save on Darren Helm, one of his 27 stops in Game 1. Fleury gave up two goals on strange caroms off the boards behind his net.

Game 1

Sidney Crosby was effectively shut down in the opener. He had no points and was limited to just two shots on goal.

Game 1

Justin Abdelkader (8) took a hit from Jordan Staal, but still had perhaps the most memorable game of his life. He scored his first career NHL goal to all but ice the game in the third period.

Game 1

Chris Osgood made 31 saves as the Wings were outshot for the first time in the playoffs.

Published Jun 14, 2009

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