Hockey Holiness: Penguins Force Game 7

Detroit's Stanley Cup didn't simply come from mining European talent

(NEWSER) - Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom and Finals MVP Henrik Zetterberg both learned their hockey skills in Sweden, but it's not Detroit's strategy of drawing European talent that secured them this year's Stanley Cup. The team's success, writes Scot Burnside for ESPN, is due to management's willingness to gamble on older mainstays of the Hockeytown franchise. More»

Overlooked Detroit stars have eclipsed young Pens all series

(NEWSER) - If the Red Wings are marching inexorably toward possession of another Stanley Cup, it's thanks in large part to their remarkable composure, writes Bob Wojnowski for the Detroit News. Henrik Zetterberg and Co. kept their cool last night despite an early deficit and potential peril of a long 5-on-3, making every play and stuffing Kid Crosby over and over. More»

Detroit beats Pittsburgh to take a 3-1 lead in the series

(NEWSER) - Detroit is just one game away from yet another meeting with Lord Stanley. The Red Wings beat Pittsburgh 2-1 tonight to take a 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals. Jiri Hudler broke a 1-1 tie early in the third, and goalie Chris Osgood turned in one of his best games of the playoffs, the Detroit Free Press reports. Nicklas Lidstrom scored Detroit's other goal, while Marion Hossa got Pittsburgh's. Game 5 is Monday night in Detroit. More»

(NEWSER) - With the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins to decide the Stanley Cup finals tonight, David Schoenfield takes a look at the best Game 7s in NHL championship history for ESPN. Some highlights:

• 1950: Red Wings 4, Rangers 3 (2 OT). Pete Babando’s goal 8½ minutes into the second overtime capped a series that saw the last four games decided by one goal, three of them OT.
• 1994: Rangers 3, Canucks 2. New York hangs on in front of a delirious crowd to end the franchise’s 54-year Cup drought.

Detroit beats young Penguins in Game 6

(NEWSER) - The Detroit Red Wings held off the resilient Pittsburgh Penguins tonight to win their fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years, the Detroit News reports. Detroit won Game 6 by a score of 3-2 after surviving a near repeat of their late collapse in the previous game. The Penguins scored with about 90 seconds left to make it a one-goal game, then came within a whisker of a miraculous tying goal by Marion Hossa as time ran out. Brian Rafalski, Valtteri Filippula and playoff MVP Henrik Zetterberg scored for the Wings. More»