DETROIT (Reuters) – The Pittsburgh Penguins claimed revenge and their first Stanley Cup since 1992 after closing out a nail-biting 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in Game Seven on Friday.
Maxime Talbot scored a pair of second period goals, while goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury answered his critics with a solid 23-save effort as the Penguins celebrated with their third Stanley Cup triumph.
The Penguins, who lost the Cup to the Red Wings in six games a year ago, join the 1971 Montreal Canadiens as the only team to drop the opening two games of a final on the road then claw their way back to win the title.
Trailing 2-0 and seemingly down and out, Detroit revived their bid for back-to-back trophies through rookie Jonathan Ericsson, who blasted a shot from the point past Fleury with just over six minutes remaining to set up a dramatic finish.
At 2-1 with two minutes to play, the Red Wings' Niklas Kronwall rattled a shot off the crossbar before a last-gasp chance from captain Nicklas Lidstrom was denied by Fleury, who dived across the crease in the final seconds to make a spectacular save.
FLEURY UNFLAPPABLE
Fleury, chased from Game Five after surrendering four second period goals in a 5-0 blowout, was unflappable early, as the Red Wings flew out of the blocks, drawing energy from a raucous capacity crowd at the Joe Louis Arena.
But it was the Penguins who landed the first blow just 73 seconds into the second period when Talbot intercepted a clearing pass and snapped the puck past Chris Osgood.
Talbot doubled Pittsburgh's advantage midway through the period, breaking in on a two-on-one then crushing a slap shot that whizzed by Osgood's out-stretched glove into the top corner.
Having denied themselves a playoff spot as late as February, the march of the Penguins began in earnest with an 18-3-4 run to close out the regular season and storm into Stanley Cup contention.
They then survived four cliff-hanging best-of-seven series to clasp the Cup that slipped through their fingers last season.
Maxime Talbot scored a pair of second period goals, while goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury answered his critics with a solid 23-save effort as the Penguins celebrated with their third Stanley Cup triumph.
The Penguins, who lost the Cup to the Red Wings in six games a year ago, join the 1971 Montreal Canadiens as the only team to drop the opening two games of a final on the road then claw their way back to win the title.
Trailing 2-0 and seemingly down and out, Detroit revived their bid for back-to-back trophies through rookie Jonathan Ericsson, who blasted a shot from the point past Fleury with just over six minutes remaining to set up a dramatic finish.
At 2-1 with two minutes to play, the Red Wings' Niklas Kronwall rattled a shot off the crossbar before a last-gasp chance from captain Nicklas Lidstrom was denied by Fleury, who dived across the crease in the final seconds to make a spectacular save.
FLEURY UNFLAPPABLE
Fleury, chased from Game Five after surrendering four second period goals in a 5-0 blowout, was unflappable early, as the Red Wings flew out of the blocks, drawing energy from a raucous capacity crowd at the Joe Louis Arena.
But it was the Penguins who landed the first blow just 73 seconds into the second period when Talbot intercepted a clearing pass and snapped the puck past Chris Osgood.
Talbot doubled Pittsburgh's advantage midway through the period, breaking in on a two-on-one then crushing a slap shot that whizzed by Osgood's out-stretched glove into the top corner.
Having denied themselves a playoff spot as late as February, the march of the Penguins began in earnest with an 18-3-4 run to close out the regular season and storm into Stanley Cup contention.
They then survived four cliff-hanging best-of-seven series to clasp the Cup that slipped through their fingers last season.
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