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2008 Stanley Cup Finals

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2008 Stanley Cup Final
Teams 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Games
Pittsburgh 0 0 3 1 1
Detroit 4 3 2 2 3
Coaches Detroit: Mike Babcock
Pittsburgh: Michel Therrien
Captains Detroit: Nicklas Lidström
Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby
Referees Paul Devorski, Marc Joannette, Dan O'Halloran and Brad Watson[1]
Dates May 24 – June 7
Networks NBC, CBC, Versus, RDS, NASN
Announcers (CBC) Bob Cole, Greg Millen[2]
(Versus/NBC) Mike Emrick, Ed Olczyk

The 2008 Stanley Cup Finals will determine 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 series pits the Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins against the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings. The best-of-seven series began May 24.[3]

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

The Cup Final is being broadcast in Canada as part of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada in English and on RDS in French. In the United States, Versus televised Games 1 and 2, and NBC is broadcasting the rest of the series. [3] In the United Kingdom, all games are being aired live on Five.

Path to the Final

Main article: 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Detroit Red Wings entered the Final after winning the Presidents' Trophy as the team that finished the regular season with the most points in the league. 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, 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, who was acquired at the trade deadline, 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 a second division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, also in five games.

Rosters

Detroit Red Wings

Goaltenders
# Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth
30 Canada Chris Osgood L 2005 Peace River, Alberta
35 United States Jimmy Howard L 2003 Ogdensburg, New York
39 Czech Republic Dominik Hasek L 2006 Pardubice, Czechoslovakia
Defensemen
# Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
3 Sweden Andreas Lilja L 2005 Helsingborg, Sweden
4 Canada Kyle Quincey L 2003 Kitchener, Ontario
5 Sweden Nicklas Lidstrom – C L 1989 Vasteras, Sweden
14 Canada Derek Meech L 2002 Winnipeg, Manitoba
22 United States Brett Lebda L 2004 Buffalo Grove, Illinois
23 Canada Brad Stuart L 2008 Rocky Mountain House, Alberta
24 United States Chris Chelios R 1999 Chicago, Illinois
28 United States Brian Rafalski R 2007 Dearborn, Michigan
36 United States Garrett Stafford R 2007 Los Angeles, California
46 Czech Republic Jakub Kindl L 2005 Sumperk, Czechoslovakia
52 Sweden Jonathan Ericsson L 2002 Karlskrona, Sweden
55 Sweden Niklas Kronwall L 2000 Stockholm, Sweden
Forwards
# Player Position Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
8 United States Justin Abdelkader C L 2005 Muskegon, Michigan
11 Canada Daniel Cleary LW L 2005 Carbonear, Newfoundland
13 Russia Pavel Datsyuk – A C L 1998 Sverdlovsk, U.S.S.R.
17 Canada Dallas Drake RW L 2007 Trail, British Columbia
18 Canada Kirk Maltby RW R 1996 Guelph, Ontario
20 Canada Aaron Downey RW R 2007 Shelburne, Ontario
25 Canada Darren McCarty RW R 2008 Burnaby, British Columbia
26 Czech Republic Jiri Hudler C L 2002 Olomouc, Czechoslovakia
33 Canada Kris Draper – A C L 1993 Toronto, Ontario
37 Sweden Mikael Samuelsson RW R 2005 Mariefred, Sweden
40 Sweden Henrik Zetterberg – A C L 1999 Njurunda, Sweden
42 Sweden Mattias Ritola C L 2005 Borlange, Sweden
43 Canada Darren Helm LW L 2005 St. Andrews, Manitoba
44 Canada Mark Hartigan C L 2007 Fort St. John, British Columbia
48 Canada Cory Emmerton LW L 2006 St. Thomas, Ontario
51 Finland Valtteri Filppula C L 2002 Vantaa, Finland
82 Slovakia Tomas Kopecky LW L 2000 Dubnica, Czechoslovakia
93 Sweden Johan Franzen LW L 2004 Vetlanda, Sweden
96 Sweden Tomas Holmstrom RW L 1994 Piteå, Sweden

Pittsburgh Penguins

Goaltenders
# Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth
29 Canada Marc-Andre Fleury L 2003 Sorel, Quebec
35 United States Ty Conklin L 2007 Anchorage, Alaska
30 Canada Dany Sabourin L 2007 Val-d'Or, Quebec
Defensemen
# Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
2 United States Hal Gill L 2008 Concord, Massachusetts
3 United States Mark Eaton (IR) L 2006 Wilmington, Delaware
4 United States Rob Scuderi L 1998 Syosset, New York
5 Canada Darryl Sydor L 2007 Edmonton, Alberta
19 United States Ryan Whitney L 2002 Boston, Massachusetts
44 United States Brooks Orpik L 2001 San Francisco, California
55 Russia Sergei Gonchar – A L 2005 Chelyabinsk, U.S.S.R.
58 Canada Kris Letang R 2005 Montreal, Quebec
Forwards
# Player Position Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
9 Canada Pascal Dupuis LW/RW L 2008 Laval, Quebec
10 Canada Gary Roberts – A LW L 2007 North York, Ontario
11 Canada Jordan Staal C L 2006 Thunder Bay, Ontario
12 United States Ryan Malone LW L 1999 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
17 Czech Republic Petr Sykora RW L 2007 Pilsen, Czechoslovakia
18 Slovakia Marian Hossa RW L 2008 Stara Lubovna, Czechoslovakia
24 Canada Kris Beech C L 2008 Salmon Arm, British Columbia
25 Canada Maxime Talbot C/LW L 2002 LeMoyne, Quebec
27 Canada Georges Laraque RW R 2007 Montreal, Quebec
28 United States Adam Hall RW/C R 2007 Kalamazoo, Michigan
37 Finland Jarkko Ruutu LW L 2006 Helsinki, Finland
38 United States Jeff Taffe C/LW L 2007 Hastings, Minnesota
48 Canada Tyler Kennedy C/RW R 2004 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
71 Russia Evgeni Malkin C L 2004 Magnitogorsk, U.S.S.R.
87 Canada Sidney Crosby – C C L 2005 Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia

Game 1

May 24 Detroit Red Wings 4 – 0 Pittsburgh Penguins Joe Louis Arena Recap


Pittsburgh's Gary Roberts and Detroit's Chris Chelios were both benched 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 after recieving an assist from Brad Stuart, to give the Red Wings a 3–0 lead. Henrik Zetterberg scored with 13 seconds remaining, giving the Wings their second goal on the power-play. 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 1 summary

  • Goalie Statistics:
  • Shots by Period:
Team 1 2 3 T
Pittsburgh 12 4 3 19
Detroit 11 16 9 36

Game 2

May 26 Detroit Red Wings 3 – 0 Pittsburgh Penguins Joe Louis Arena Recap

In preparation for game two, head coach Michel Therrien revised Pittsburgh's lines; the revision included Gary Roberts who did not play in game one.[4] Johan Franzen, the leading goal-scorer in the playoffs, returned to the line-up for Detroit.[5]

Detroit's Brad Stuart scored the first goal of the game 6:55 into the first period, on a slap shot, with an assist from Valtteri Filppula. Tomas Holmstrom added a goal at 11:18 into the first period, to put Detroit up 2–0. Pittsburgh struggled throughout the period, failing to get a shot on goal for the game's first twelve minutes. Detroit outshot the Penguins 11–6 in the second period, but both teams failed to score. At 8:48 into the third period, Valtteri Filppula acquired his first goal of the series, beating goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury with a wrist-shot. Chris Osgood recorded his second consecutive shutout, stopping all 22 shots faced.

Game 2 summary

  • Goalie Statistics:
  • Shots by Period:
Team 1 2 3 T
Pittsburgh 6 6 10 22
Detroit 12 11 11 34

Game 3

May 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 3 – 2 Detroit Red Wings Mellon Arena Recap

Game three was held in Pittsburgh, where going into the matchup the Penguins had won sixteen consecutive home games.[6] Pittsburgh continued to shuffle their lineup by replacing defenseman Kris Letang with veteran Darryl Sydor,[7] but going back to the top line combinations from game one. The Penguins captain Sidney Crosby scored the team's first goal of the series late in the first period, with an assist from Marian Hossa. The Penguins went up 2-0 after Crosby scored a second time, his second coming on the power-play, just 2:34 into the second period. Johan Franzen pulled the Red Wings within one, when he scored on the power-play at 14:48 of the second period. Adam Hall scored his second goal of the post season, when the Penguins winger scored at 7:18 of the third period, putting his team up 3-1. Mikael Samuelsson scored a second goal for the Red Wings, with assists from Brad Stuart and Valtteri Filppula. However, Pittsburgh's 3-2 lead held, giving the team their first victory of the series. Despite winning the game, Pittsburgh was outshot by the Red Wings for the third consecutive game by at least 10 shots.

Game 3 summary

  • Shots by Period:
Team 1 2 3 T
Pittsburgh 6 13 5 24
Detroit 9 9 16 34

Game 4

May 31 Pittsburgh Penguins 1 - 2 Detroit Red Wings Mellon Arena Recap

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 in Game 4. 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 4 summary

  • Shots by Period:
Team 1 2 3 T
Pittsburgh 9 8 6 23
Detroit 14 7 9 30

Game 5

June 2 Detroit Red Wings 1 – 2 Pittsburgh Penguins Joe Louis Arena

Game In Progress Western Conference Champions, Detroit Red Wings Leads 3-1 over the Eastern Conference Champions Pittsburgh Penguins. This is the first time the Stanley Cup is winnable in the 2008 finals.

Game 5 Summary

  • Third Period
    • Scoring: N/A
    • Penalties: N/A
  • Shots by Period:
Team 1 2 3 T
Pittsburgh 7 0 0 7
Detroit 8 0 0 8

Remaining game schedule

All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time. Games marked in italics are if necessary.

June 4 Pittsburgh Penguins 8:00pm Detroit Red Wings Mellon Arena NBC, CBC, RDS
June 7 Detroit Red Wings 8:00pm Pittsburgh Penguins Joe Louis Arena NBC, CBC, RDS
Detroit leads series 3–1


See also

References

  1. ^ "Stanley Cup Officials". HHLOA. 05-21-2008. Retrieved 2008-05-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Broadcasters piecing together on-air rosters". The Globe and Mail. 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  3. ^ a b "2008 Stanley Cup Final will begin Saturday, May 24". NHL.com. 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
  4. ^ Molinari, Dave (2008-05-26). "Moving forward: Therrien shuffles lines hoping to make a difference in Game 2". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-05-26. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ Anderson, Shelly (2008-05-26). "Red Wings' Franzen will play tonight". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-05-26. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ Kreiser, John (2008-05-27). "Penguins hope home is where the wins are". NHL.com. Retrieved 2008-05-28. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ Rosen, Dan (2008-05-28). "Cup winner Sydor jumps back into Pens lineup". PittsburghPenguins.com. Retrieved 2008-05-28. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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