Pittsburgh Penguins Win 2009 Stanley Cup

The Pittsburgh Penguins have beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in a very exciting game and have become the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions.

Sidney Crosby is the youngest captain to hoist the Stanley Cup and after the night he’s had I’m sure the moment feels incredible.

image: Zuma Press

From the start, the Penguins looked like the sharper team but, in the first period, both Pittsburgh and Detroit came out with a lot of intensity but the combination of Maxime Talbot (who scored both goals for the Pens) and the goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury was simply unbeatable tonight.

By the second period, I kept looking around wondering where the Red Wings were.  It was such a strange game.   They seemed to lack focus, they kept getting called off-side and it really looked like they were either worn out or had given up.  I did think that things might turn around for them when Johan Franzen rammed Crosby into the boards.  The Pittsburgh captain limped over to the bench and then headed to the locker rooms.  He didn’t return for the rest of the period.

During the third period, the Red Wings seemed to have a lot more drive, especially in the second half.  Crosby returned to the game but he coulnd’t move like he needed to.  I’m sure it was hard for coach Dan Bylsma to restrict his star player’s ice time but with Detroit playing harder (and that lone goal by Jonathan Ericsson) he had to put his healthiest legs in the game.  I swear I almost had a heart attack in those last 20 minutes, especially when that shot got past Fleury and hit the crossbar (did you see him rub the net affectionately?  He later said that he was thanking it for making a big save for him – ha ha!!).  If Detroit had brought that intensity from the start, they might be the ones celebrating the win tonight.

After the game, it was pretty great to watch the Penguins hoist the trophy even though they were in Detroit but Crosby explained on Hockey Night in Canada that it was hard to watch the end of Game 7 from the bench.  All of the players were very emotional and Evgeni Malkin was presented with the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Congratulations, Pittsburgh.  You proved that a team can win Game 7 on the road under seriously adverse conditions and that touching the Eastern Conference trophy doesn’t lead to bad luck.  Enjoy your banner year!

image: Zuma Press