Stanley Cup Finals Game 7

Detroit Red Wings vs Pittsburgh Penguins: Pittsburgh wins 2-1 (Pittsburgh wins series 4-3)

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were not needed in the two game comeback by the Penguins, as Maxim Talbot proved to be the hero in game 7, scoring the only two goals for the Penguins in their 2-1 victory, both in the second period to give Pittsburgh the then 2-0 lead. The rookie Jonathan Ericsson, who played a strong playoffs, came through with a goal with 7 minutes left in the third to give Detroit a gasp of life as they tried to tie it late in the third, outshooting Pittsburgh 7-1 in the period. But Marc-Andre Fleury stood strong (he denied Detroit captain Lidstrom a wide open goal with 1 second left with a sprawling save, similar to what happened to Hossa and the Penguins last year), and the defense had strong rebound control as the Penguins secured their first Stanley Cup since the Mario Lemieux era.

Evgeni Malkin won the Conn Smythe trophy, as he was the leading point scorer for the Penguins in the playoffs. Sidney Crosby became the youngest captain to hoist the Cup, winning it in just his fourth year in the league at age 21. But the victory was probably the sweetest for Bill Guerin, who was part of a rebuilding phase in New York for the last place Islanders before being traded at the deadline to Pittsburgh. It was his first championship since 1995, just 3 years after Pittsburgh's last Stanley Cup. Marian Hossa came out on the short end of the stick; he turned down a pay raise in Pittsburgh during the offseason and decided to take a pay cut to come to Detroit, as he publicly announced he felt that he had a better chance to win the Cup with the Red Wings. The decision probably turned out to be beneficial for Pittsburgh, as they had the cap space to sign Kunitz and Guerin at the deadline, who both played stellar in the postseason. It was also probably the last chance for Chris Chelios to win a cup, as the 47 year old defenseman, who only played 6 playoff games this postseason, will most likely retire from the sport this offseason.