Redwings win Stanley Cup

The Detroit Redwings clinched the Stanley Cup with a nail-biting 3-2 Game Six win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday (June 4). The Redwings, who were just 35 seconds from securing the Cup in Game Five on Monday (June 2), shrugged off the disappointment of the home defeat and hung on to claim the best-of-seven series 4-2 and lift their fourth Cup in 11 years. It marked the fourth consecutive series the Red Wings had won on the road as they finished off the gritty Penguins, who sought to become the first team since the Toronto Maple Leafs 66 years ago to climb back from a 3-1 series deficit and win the Cup. As the final buzzer sounded, players poured off the bench, celebrating as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman handed the Stanley Cup to Detroit's Swedish captain Nicklas Lidstrom, who became the first European to lead his team to a championship. After being shutout in the opening two games of the series, the Penguins promised they would not go down without a fight and were true to their word, battling the Redwings and taking it right to the wire for the second successive game. Clinging to a 3-1 lead, the Red Wings watched their advantage sliced to a single goal when Marian Hossa redirected a shot by Sergei Gonchar to score a power play goal with 87 seconds left in regulation, sending a shudder down the Detroit bench. Just 48 hours earlier, the Red Wings were left stunned when Maxime Talbot tied Game Five with seconds left in regulation and Petr Sykora shredded party plans with his triple overtime winner. But this time, the Red Wings refused to buckle under an all-out Penguins assault that left the capacity crowd breathless and on its feet as Detroit netminder Osgood made a last-second stop on Hossa to seal the win. The Penguins were welcomed back to the Igloo, where they have lost just once this post-season, by a thunderous ovation from a towel waving capacity crowd in white. But the Red Wings quickly silenc...