Stanley Cup Final Post-Game Notes, Game 6

RED WINGS CAPTURE 11TH STANLEY CUP

The Detroit Red Wings have captured their 11th Stanley Cup and fourth since 1997. Only two franchises have won more - the Montreal Canadiens (24) and Toronto Maple Leafs (14).

Stanley Cup Wins By Current NHL Clubs

24 – Montreal Canadiens *
14 – Toronto Maple Leafs *
11 – Detroit Red Wings (1936, 37, 43, 50, 52, 54, 55, 97, 98, 02, 08)
5 – Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers
4 – New York Islanders, New York Rangers
3 – Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils
2 – Colorado Avalanche, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins
1 – Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning

* Canadiens and Maple Leafs each won one Stanley Cup prior to the formation of the NHL in 1917

RED WINGS' ZETTERBERG WINS CONN SMYTHE TROPHY

Red Wings left wing Henrik Zetterberg has won the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to “the most valuable player to his team in the playoffs.” The winner is selected in a vote by a panel of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association at the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final.

Zetterberg, a 27-year-old native of Njurunda, Sweden, was the 210th player selected in the 1999 Entry Draft and played his fifth season with the Red Wings in 2007-08. He finished the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs at or near the top of several categories:

* ranked first in points (13-14--27 in 22 games, placed ahead of Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby's 6-21--27 on the basis of more goals)
* ranked first in goals (13, tied with Detroit's Johan Franzen)
* ranked second in game-winning goals (four)
* ranked third in assists (14, tied with two players)
* ranked first in shorthanded goals (two, tied with three players)
* ranked first in shorthanded assists (three)
* ranked first in shots on goal (116)
* ranked first in plus-minus (+16, tied with Detroit's Niklas Kronwall)

In addition, Zetterberg's work on the Red Wings' penalty-killing unit kept Pittsburgh from scoring during five-on-three power plays for 1:26 late in the third period of Game 4 and 1:33 in the first period of tonight's game.

During the regular season, Zetterberg helped the Red Wings record the best opening half-season in League history by setting a franchise record with points in 17 consecutive games to start the season (13-14--27). He went on to set career highs in goals (43), assists (49) and points (92) in 75 games. He led the club and ranked second in the League with 358 shots and posted a career-best +30 rating.

OSGOOD TALLIES 14TH WIN IN 2008 PLAYOFFS

Red Wings G Chris Osgood posted his 14th victory of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight, wrapping up an outstanding postseason. Osgood made his 2008 playoff debut during Game 4 of the Conference Quarterfinal series against Nashville in relief of Dominik Hasek and made his first start in Game 5, making 20 stops in a 2-1 overtime victory. He posted his fifth career shutout in a postseason series-clinching game in Game 6, the most of any goaltender in NHL history. Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, Curtis Joseph and Jacques Plante are tied for second with four each. Osgood went on to win his first nine starts of the postseason (two against Nashville, four against Colorado, three against Dallas) and surpassed the legendary Terry Sawchuk by winning his 48th career playoff game with the Red Wings in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final against Dallas.

Osgood became the fourth goaltender in NHL history to post consecutive shutouts in Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Final and the second goaltender in NHL history to win each of his first six decisions in the Stanley Cup Final (four against Washington in 1998, two against Pittsburgh in 2008). He finished the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 14-4 record with a 1.55 goals-against average, .930 save percentage and three shutouts in 19 games. He led all playoff goaltenders in goals-against average, tied for first with Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury in wins and shutouts, and ranked second to Fleury in save percentage.

LIDSTROM MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST EUROPEAN-TRAINED CUP-WINNING CAPTAIN

Born in Vasteras, Sweden, Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom is the first European-trained captain to hoist the Stanley Cup. Steve Yzerman served as captain on Lidstrom's three previous Stanley Cup-winning clubs with Detroit in 1997, 1998 and 2002. Lidstrom was one of nine full-time European captains in 2007-08, joining Boston Bruins D Zdeno Chara (Slovakia), Atlanta Thrashers C Bobby Holik (Czech Republic), Florida Panthers C Olli Jokinen (Finland), Montreal Canadiens C Saku Koivu (Finland), New York Rangers RW Jaromir Jagr (Czech Republic), Toronto Maple Leafs C Mats Sundin (Sweden) and Vancouver Canucks C Markus Naslund (Sweden).

RED WINGS VETERANS WINNING FIRST STANLEY CUP

Red Wings RW Dallas Drake, a veteran of 1,009 regular-season and 90 playoff games in his 15-year NHL career, has won his first Stanley Cup. The 39-year-old Trail, B.C. native tallied his 300th career assist in his 1,000th career game March 11 against Chicago. Drake was drafted by the Red Wings 116th overall in the sixth round of the 1989 Entry Draft, made his League debut with the club in 1992-93 and was traded to the Winnipeg Jets in March, 1994. He signed on for his second stint with Detroit 13 years later as a free agent on July 9, 2007.

Other Detroit players with at least 500 NHL games played winning their first Stanley Cup are RW Dan Cleary (540 regular-season and 56 playoff games) and D Brad Stuart (579 regular-season and 73 playoff games).

CLEARY MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST NEWFOUNDLAND NATIVE TO WIN STANLEY CUP

Detroit RW Dan Cleary has become the first native of Newfoundland and Labrador to win the Stanley Cup. Cleary, a native of Harbour Grace, was the second Newfoundlander and the first in more than 40 years to compete in the Stanley Cup Final, joining Alex Faulkner, who skated for the Detroit Red Wings against Toronto in 1963 and 1964. With 209 points (84 goals, 125 assists) in 540 games over 10 NHL seasons, Cleary ranks second on the all-time NHL scoring list among Newfoundland-born players, trailing Keith Brown (68-274--342). Brown, whose Chicago Blackhawks faced the Penguins in the 1992 Stanley Cup Final, missed that series with a shoulder injury.

STANLEY CUP SWEDEN-BOUND?

Six of the Red Wings' top nine scorers in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs hail from Sweden: LW Henrik Zetterberg, Njurunda (1st, 13-14--27); RW Johan Franzen, Vetlanda (3rd, 13-5--18); D Niklas Kronwall, Stockholm (4th, 0-15--15); RW Mikael Samuelsson, Mariefred (7th, 5-8--13); D Nicklas Lidstrom, Vasteras (8th, 3-10--13) and LW Tomas Holmstrom, Pieta (9th, 4-8--12). A seventh Sweden native, D Andreas Lilja (Helsin), tallied one assist in 12 postseason appearances.

THINK A GOOD START MATTERS?

The past four Stanley Cup champions have a combined October record of 33-4-6. Tampa Bay went 6-0-1 in October, 2003; Carolina went 8-2-1 in October 2005; Anaheim went 9-0-3 in October 2006 and the Red Wings went 10-2-1 in October 2007. Over the past 10 seasons, the Stanley Cup champions boast a combined October record of 88-19-15.

STANLEY CUP CAPS SEASON OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR RED WINGS

The Red Wings triumph tonight caps a season in which the club set an NHL record for most first-half victories during the regular season (30-8-3); reached the 100-point mark for the eighth consecutive season, matching the Montreal Canadiens' record streak from 1974-75 through 1981-82; captured their seventh consecutive division title; earned a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 17th consecutive season, the longest active streak of qualifying for the postseason among the major pro sports; won their sixth Presidents’ Trophy as the League's top regular-season club and set a franchise playoff record by winning nine consecutive games from Apr. 18 to May 12.

FIVE RED WINGS CAPTURE FOURTH CAREER STANLEY CUP

Five members of the Red Wings have won the Stanley Cup for the fourth time with the club since 1997. The only other active player with four Stanley Cup wins is Anaheim Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer.

Most Stanley Cup Wins, Active Players

  Wins    Player                      Club(s), Year(s)

    4    Kris Draper                   Detroit (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008)
    4    Tomas Holmstrom     Detroit (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008)
    4    Nicklas Lidstrom         Detroit (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008)
    4    Kirk Maltby                     Detroit (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008)
    4    Darren McCarty            Detroit (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008)
    4    Scott Niedermayer      New Jersey (1995, 2000, 2003), Anaheim (2007)

OTHER RED WINGS WHO HAVE WON MULTIPLE STANLEY CUPS

 Wins     Player                        Club(s), Year(s)

    3    Chris Chelios               Montreal (1986), Detroit (2002, 2008)
    3    Chris Osgood               Detroit (1997, 1998, 2008)
    3    Brian Rafalski               New Jersey (2000, 2003), Detroit (2008)
    2    Pavel Datsyuk               Detroit (2002, 2008)
    2    Dominik Hasek            Detroit (2002, 2008)

CHELIOS, HASEK AMONG OLDEST TO CAPTURE CUP

Although he did not play in the Stanley Cup Final, Red Wings D Chris Chelios becomes the oldest man to appear in a playoff game for a Stanley Cup-winning team. Chelios, 46 years and 131 days old today, passes the New York Rangers goaltender Lester Patrick, who was 44 years, 106 days in 1928.

Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek (43 years and 127 days) becomes the third-oldest player on the list, ahead of Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Johnny Bower in 1967 (42 years, 175 days).

2008 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF SCORING LEADERS (FINAL)

                                                  GP    G    A     Pts
Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit    22    13   14    27
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh   20     6     21    27
Marian Hossa, Pittsburgh    20    12   14    26
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit          22    10    13    23
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh    20    10    12    22

CHAMPIONSHIP FOLLOWS RED WINGS' HARTIGAN

Red Wings C Mark Hartigan is a member of the Stanley Cup-winning club for a second consecutive season. Acquired by Anaheim from Columbus in a January, 2007 trade, Hartigan made six regular-season and one playoff appearance for the champion Ducks. Although he did not meet the games-played criteria for his name to be engraved on the Stanley Cup, he enjoyed his day with the trophy last summer at his father's house in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Signed as a free agent by Detroit on July 16, 2007, Hartigan appeared in 23 regular-season and four playoff games with the Red Wings in 2007-08.

RED WINGS' DATSYUK ADDS TO LEAGUE-LEADING ROAD TOTAL

Red Wings C Pavel Datsyuk tallied two assists in Game 6, increasing his League-leading road points total in the 2008 playoffs to 17 (nine goals, eight assists) and a +10 rating in 11 games. Datsyuk tallied 17 of his 23 playoff points away from Joe Louis Arena.

NAMES ENGRAVED ON THE STANLEY CUP

From the National Hockey League By-Laws:

"A player who was dressed for 40 or more games in the regular National Hockey League season, and is a member of his club after the final cut-off date…or a player who actually participated in the Final Series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and whose club subsequently wins the Stanley Cup shall be eligible to have his name engraved thereon. The winning club shall be responsible for providing the League with a list of playing and non-playing personnel whose names shall be engraved on the trophy. The size of the list shall be governed by space restrictions."

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