Detroit Red Wings Bring The Cup Back To Hockeytown

The Pittsburgh Penguins received their final beating of the season last night from Detroit at home, losing 3-2 in game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals as the Red Wings went on to celebrate their victory, instilling fresh glory in Hockeytown once more. Henrik Zetterberg took home the Conn Smythe trophy for playoff MVP, securing his name next to the finest in history–including teammate and countryman, Nicklas Lidstrom. The Swedes are unarguably amongst the top performing talent today’s NHL, and Detroit can finally basque in the feeling of greatness after another championship banner is raised at the Joe Louis arena. It’s the 11th title, leaving the Wings as the third most winningest hockey club–ever!

It would have been easy, maybe even forgivable, if the Wings had come out Wednesday night like a half-inflated tire. You never know how much a loss, when you are 35 seconds away from a title, can take out of you. Sure, you tell the media “we’re over it.” But nobody gets over a game like that so fast. It plays in your head. It dances with your demons. It haunts every “what if …” sentence you can think of.

This is where Mike Babcock and Lidstrom come in. This is where Chris Chelios and Kirk Maltby and Darren McCarty and the wizened, red-headed spirit of Kris Draper come in. This is where all the guys who have been there before come in and tamp their hands down and say, “Easy, easy, we can handle this. We know what we’re doing.”

The Wings needed to make that point on the ice. Right away. So Osgood, 35, began the game with a point-blank shot from Petr Sykora — last seen putting one past Ozzie to win Game 5 — only this time, on a much tougher shot, Osgood stonewalled him. Point taken.

And Brian Rafalski, 34, who scored what could have been the game-winner in Game 5, fired a shot off a beautiful pass from Zetterberg and it flew off a Penguins’ shin pad and went past Fleury for the goal. Point taken.

Men in their 30s. Younger men in their 20s. It is the Wings’ best asset, the combination of youth and experience, and they employed it beautifully in that first period, holding back the crowd and any inertia the Pens might have had from their victory two nights earlier. And finally, the game, the season, and the six-year wait were over.

Check out some more Red Wings celebration pictures by clicking here!

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Posted On June 5, 2008 by SKAM // Filed Under: Sports