Penguins are 2009 Stanley Cup Champions
Pittsburgh Wins Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit
Heading into Friday night’s NHL season finale, the Pittsburgh Penguins knew that if they wanted to reverse the roles of the 2008 Cup Final, they would have to conquer their demons at Joe Louis Arena. While many didn’t give them much of a chance, especially with the home teams winning every game thus far, the Pens stepped it up and snuffed the Wings.
Two More Goals for Maxime Talbot
After Evgeni Malkin joked earlier in the series that linemate Maxime Talbot’s scoring could use some practice over the summer, Talbot showed “Geno” that maybe he doesn’t need as much as originally thought. A game-changer on several occasions in these playoffs – trailing in Game 6 in the first round, a fight against the Flyers’ Daniel Carcillo threw momentum in the Pens’ favor – the sparkplug provided all the scoring Pittsburgh would need in this one.
Shortly after Talbot’s first tally, it appeared the Penguins might have to win this one without their captain; Crosby left the ice 5:33 in following a hit by Johan Franzen and didn’t return for the rest of the frame. No. 87 would be on the bench to start the third, but his apparent injury would see him take just one shift in the period.
Marc-Andre Fleury Stands Tall in Detroit
The Motor City hadn’t been kind to Fleury in this Stanley Cup Final series. While he rebounded at home after he was pulled in Game 5 in Detroit, it was easy to side with history in his potential performance in the ultimate tie-breaking contest. Fleury, however, wasn’t about to let the bad bounces that had haunted him thus far stand in the way of the shiny silver trophy.
His puck-handling early on might have left some Pittsburgh faithful a little squeamish, but the first overall pick in 2003 kept making the necessary saves and slowly exorcised every little demon that had been hanging around until then.
With a second and change left on the clock, Fleury scared away any leftover ghosts with a stop that will grace the highlight reels in the days to come. A rebound on a save bounced out to a pinching Nicklas Lidstrom, who then tossed the puck at the net. The Penguins’ netminder dove to his right, throwing his 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame in the direction of Lidstrom’s shot to preserve the 2-1 score.
The horn buzzed and it was official: Pittsburgh had clinched their first Stanley Cup title since 1992.
Cup for Crosby, Conn Smythe for Malkin
When the final 20 minutes played out, Commissioner Gary Bettman was greeted with a chorus of boos before presenting the two trophies of the night. First, a deserved Conn Smythe for Malkin, who assisted on Talbot’s first marker for his league-leading 36th point of the postseason. It was a complete turnaround for the 22-year-old after hitting the wall in the 2008 Cup Final. Malkin’s Conn Smythe performance was a historical one, as he became the first Russian to capture NHL playoff MVP honors.
But he wasn’t the only one to make history. After briefly parading around with the trophy, it was time for the one they had all been waiting for. Crosby, drafted a year after Malkin, stood by Bettman and, upon lifting hockey’s Holy Grail, became the youngest NHL captain to hoist the Stanley Cup at 21 years, 10 months and 6 days.
In his next NHL television ad, it will be a whole new still photo he’ll be in, likely one with a big silver Cup.
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