2008 Stanley Cup Finals

Infobox Stanley Cup Final
year=2008


team1=Pittsburgh Penguins
team1_1=0
team1_2=0
team1_3=3
team1_4=1
team1_5=4
team1_6=2
team1_tot=2
team2=Detroit Red Wings
team2_1=4
team2_2=3
team2_3=2
team2_4=2
team2_5=3
team2_6=3
team2_tot=4
gm5_ot=***
table-note=* - Denotes overtime period(s)
coaches=Detroit: Mike Babcock
Pittsburgh: Michel Therrien
captains=Detroit: Nicklas Lidstrom
Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby
referees=Paul Devorski, Marc Joannette, Dan O'Halloran, Brad Watson [cite web |url= http://www.nhlofficials.com/display_news.asp?articleID=289|title= Stanley Cup Officials|accessdate=2008-05-22 |author= |date= 05-21-2008|work= |publisher=HHLOA]
dates= May 24 – June 4
location1=Detroit: Joe Louis Arena (1,2,5)
location2=Pittsburgh: Mellon Arena (3,4,6)
mvp=Henrik Zetterberg
series_winner=Henrik Zetterberg (7:36, 3rd, G6)
networks= NBC, CBC, Versus, RDS, NASN
announcers= (CBC) Bob Cole, Greg Millen [cite news | url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/GAM.20080521.TRUTH21/TPStory/TPComment | title=Broadcasters piecing together on-air rosters | publisher=The Globe and Mail | date=2008-05-21| accessdate=2008-05-21]
(Versus/NBC) Mike Emrick, Ed OlczykThe 2008 Stanley Cup Final determined the winner of the Stanley Cup and the champion of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2007–08 season. As a culmination of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings defeated the Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins, four games to two. Henrik Zetterberg was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs. [cite news |title= Detroit Red Wings win Stanley Cup|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sportsnews/story/2008/06/04/det-pit-six.html|work= |publisher= CBC|date= 2008-06-04|accessdate=2008-06-04 ]

This was Pittsburgh's third appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, and its first since winning consecutive championships in 1991 and 1992. Detroit made its 23rd appearance in the championship series, and its first since winning the Cup in 2002. This was Detroit's 11th Stanley Cup title. This was also the first Cup Final between two American-based NHL teams since 2003. The 1993 Montreal Canadiens remain the last Canadian team to have won the Cup.

The Cup Final was broadcast in Canada and some parts of the United States as part of CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada" in English and on RDS in French. In the United States, Versus televised games one and two, and NBC broadcast the rest of the series. In the United Kingdom, all games were aired live on Five, and on the cable sports channel NASN.

Paths to the Final

The Detroit Red Wings entered the Final after winning the Presidents' Trophy as the team that had the best record during the regular season. Led by forwards Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Johan Franzén, Detroit scored 55 goals in the first three rounds of the playoffs. With struggling goaltender Dominik Hasek being replaced mid-series by Chris Osgood, the Red Wings defeated their division rival Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, in six games. The team swept the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Semifinal round, and defeated the Dallas Stars in six games to win their fifth Clarence S. Campbell Bowl in franchise history.

The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the championship series after winning the Atlantic Division and earning the second-best regular season record in the Eastern Conference. The team was led by Sidney Crosby; missing 29 games throughout the regular season because of an ankle injury, the captain returned to lead the first three rounds of the playoffs in assists, and to tie for the lead in points heading into the Stanley Cup Final. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury recorded three shutouts throughout the playoffs, to lead the league in that category. Evgeni Malkin and Marian Hossa each recorded nine goals and ten assists throughout the playoffs. The Penguins swept the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, a reversal of the series of the previous season when Ottawa beat Pittsburgh 4–1. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Penguins defeated division rival the New York Rangers, in five games. The team won the Prince of Wales Trophy by defeating another division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, also in five games.

The series

The 2008 Stanley Cup Final marked the first time that the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins have met in postseason play. The Red Wings and Penguins did not play each other during the 2007-08 regular season.

Game one

NHLPlayoffs
team1 = Detroit Red Wings
team2 = Pittsburgh Penguins
stadium1 = Joe Louis Arena
date1 = May 24
score1 = 4 – 0
won1 = 1
recap1 = www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&page=Recap&gameNumber=411&season=20072008&gameType=3Pittsburgh's Gary Roberts and Detroit's Chris Chelios were both healthy scratches for game one. Prior to the game, a ceremonial faceoff featuring former Pittsburgh captain and current team chairman Mario Lemieux and former Detroit captain and current team vice president Steve Yzerman. Each dropped a puck to their current captains Sidney Crosby and Nicklas Lidstrom, respectively.

At 15:20 into the first period, a goal scored by Nicklas Lidstrom was waved off after Tomas Holmstrom was called for goaltender interference. The remainder of the first period went scoreless, as Pittsburgh failed to capitalize on four consecutive power plays. At 13:01 into the second period, Mikael Samuelsson gave the Red Wings the unassisted game-winning goal, on a wrap-around. Just over two minutes into the third period, Samuelsson added his second unassisted goal of the game. At 17:18 into the third period, Dan Cleary scored shorthanded to give the Red Wings a 3–0 lead. Henrik Zetterberg scored on the power-play with 13 seconds remaining. Chris Osgood recorded his second shutout of the playoffs, to give the Red Wings a 4–0 victory in game one. The Red Wings outshot the Penguins 36–19.

;Game one summary
*First Period:
**Scoring: "None"
**Penalties: Kris Letang, Pittsburgh (Interference) 3:51; Tomas Holmstrom, Detroit (High sticking) 4:02; Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit (Hooking) 10:15; Darren Helm, Detroit (Tripping) 12:38; Tomas Holmstrom, Detroit (Interference) 15:20; Hal Gill, Pittsburgh (High sticking) 19:00

*Second Period:
**Scoring: (1) Detroit: Mikael Samuelsson (unassisted) 13:01
**Penalties: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh (Slashing) 1:55; Ryan Whitney, Pittsburgh (Holding) 13:13; Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh (Tripping)

*Third Period:
**Scoring: (2) Detroit: Mikael Samuelsson 2:16 (unassisted); (3) Dan Cleary (Brad Stuart) SHG 17:18; (4) Henrik Zetterberg (Tomas Holmstrom, Nicklas Lidstrom) PPG 19:47
**Penalties: Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit (Interference) 15:27; Jarkko Ruutu, Pittsburgh (Slashing) 18:08

*Goalie Statistics:
**Detroit: Chris Osgood — Shutout (2nd of playoffs), 19 saves / 19 shots
**Pittsburgh: Marc-Andre Fleury — 32 saves / 36 shots

*Shots by Period::

Game four

NHLPlayoffs
team1 = Pittsburgh Penguins
team2 = Detroit Red Wings
stadium1 = Mellon Arena
date1 = May 31
score1 = 1 – 2
won1 = 2
recap1 = www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&page=Recap&gameNumber=414&season=20072008&gameType=3Entering Game Four, Petr Sykora said the game was a must-win for the Penguins, "For us, basically, [game four] is a do-or-die game". [cite news |first= Dave|last= Molinari|authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Sykora: Penguins face a must-win situation tonight|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08152/886369-13.stm?cmpid=sports.xml |work= |publisher= Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date= 2008-05-31|accessdate=2008-05-31 ] Jiri Hudler's game-winning goal at 2:26 of the third period broke a 1–1 tie, and the Red Wings killed off a Penguins 1:26 5-on-3 advantage midway through the final period to help preserve the victory, thanks in large part to a terrific defensive play by Henrik Zetterberg on Sidney Crosby, preventing what would have been a tap-in goal when he tied up Crosby's stick at the front of the net. Pittsburgh scored first on Marian Hossa's power play goal 2:51 into the game before Nicklas Lidstrom tied the game at 7:06 of the first period.

;Game four summary

*First Period:
**Scoring: (1) Pittsburgh: Marian Hossa (Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby) PPG 2:51; (1) Detroit: Nicklas Lidstrom (Brian Rafalski, Pavel Datsyuk) 7:06
**Penalties: Dallas Drake, Detroit (Roughing) 2:11; Pascal Dupuis, Pittsburgh (Cross checking) 5:04; Brian Rafalski, Detroit (Roughing) 9:03; Kris Draper, Detroit (Holding) 14:28; Maxime Talbot, Pittsburgh (Diving) 16:59; Brett Lebda, Detroit (Cross checking) 16:59; Brooks Orpik, Pittsburgh (Roughing) 17:55; Johan Franzen, Detroit (Elbowing) 17:55

*Second Period:
**Scoring: "None"
**Penalties: Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh (Interference) 3:44; Brian Rafalski, Detroit (Holding) 16:04

*Third Period:
**Scoring: (2) Detroit: Jiri Hudler (Darren Helm, Brad Stuart) 2:26
**Penalties: Marc-Andre Fleury (served by Marian Hossa), Pittsburgh (Delay of Game) 4:08; Kirk Maltby, Detroit (Hooking) 9:36; Andreas Lilja, Detroit (Interference) 10:10

*Goalie Statistics:
**Detroit: Chris Osgood — 22 saves / 23 shots
**Pittsburgh: Marc-Andre Fleury — 28 saves / 30 shots

*Shots by Period::

Television ratings

Game one of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals had a 1.8 rating in the United States, drawing 2.3 million viewers. The rating was a 157% increase over the previous Playoff Finals opener, and a 100% rise from two years previous. [cite web
title = American television ratings rise for Stanley Cup final opener
publisher =Yahoo!
date =2008-05-28
url =http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20080526/ca_pr_on_ho/nhl_us_tv_cup_ratings_1
accessdate =2008-06-05 ] Game two had a 1.9 rating, drawing 2.5 million viewers. It was the highest-rated and most-watched cable telecast of the finals in six years in the United States. The rating was the highest for an NHL game on Versus and the second highest rating for a Versus broadcast ever only to Lance Armstrong's seventh straight Tour de France victory in 2005 (2.1). [cite web
last =Vergara
first =Norman
title =Stanley Cup game two's Ratings Outdo game one Figures
publisher =All Headline News
date =2008-05-29
url =http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011099255
accessdate =2008-06-05 ] Game three drew a 2.8 rating, representing an 87% increase over the previous year's game three. In Detroit, game three drew higher ratings (18.2) than game five of the 2008 NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics (15.9). [cite web
title =Stanley Cup's game three beat NBA conference finals in Detroit ratings
publisher =SI.com
date =2008-05-29
url =http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/hockey/nhl/specials/playoffs/2008/05/29/tvcup.0529.ap/index.html
accessdate =2008-06-05 ] Game four earned a 2.3 rating, up 21% over the previous year's game four. Game five drew a 4.3 rating, representing a 79% increase from the previous year's game five. It drew the highest ratings for a game five since 2002. [cite web
title =Stanley Cup finals ratings improve again
publisher ="USA Today"
date =2008-06-03
url =http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/2008-06-03-972010437_x.htm
accessdate =2008-06-05 ] Game six had a 4.4 rating, the best performance in a game six since 2000. It was a 100% increase over game six of 2006 and was the highest rated game for NBC since they reacquired the NHL broadcasting rights in 2004. [cite web
last =Seidman
first =Robert
title =NHL Stanley Cup Finals: Best US Game Six Ratings in EIGHT Years
publisher =TV by the Numbers
date =2008-06-05
url =http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/06/05/nhl-stanley-cup-finals-best-us-game-six-in-eight-years/4045
accessdate =2008-06-16 ]

Rosters

Years indicated in boldface under the "Finals appearance" column signify that the player won the Stanley Cup in the given year.

Detroit Red Wings

Pittsburgh Penguins

ee also

*2007–08 NHL season
*2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs

References