Top 20 Cup Final games since 2000: No. 7

As the NHL prepares for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NHL.com staff selected the best 20 Stanley Cup Final games since 2000. Our 15-writer panel nominated 44 games for consideration before each member voted for his or her favorite 20 from that list. Each favorite game was awarded 20 points, with the selections that followed receiving one fewer point each and so on, down to one point for each 20th-favorite game. Today, we look at Game 5 of the 2008 Final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings, which was on 13 ballots and received 147 points.

2008 Game 5: Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Detroit Red Wings 3 (3OT)

Penguins forward Petr Sykora delivered on an intermission promise, scoring the game-winning goal at 9:57 of the third overtime to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in Game 5 at Joe Louis Arena and keep Pittsburgh alive in the series.
Facing elimination, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (55 saves) and the Penguins withstood everything the Red Wings threw at them. Yes, Detroit would ultimately win the series, but Pittsburgh's road resolve -- where it was outscored 7-0 during the first two games of the series -- was a sight to behold.
The Penguins held a 2-0 lead at first intermission after goals from forwards Marian Hossa (8:37) and Adam Hall (14:41), but Red Wings forward Darren Helm made it 2-1 at 2:54 of the second period, and Pavel Datsyuk tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal 6:43 into the third. Defenseman Brian Rafalski gave Detroit a 3-2 lead at 9:23.
The Red Wings were 35 seconds away from hoisting the Cup on home ice when Penguins forward Maxime Talbot sent the game to overtime by pouncing on a loose puck in front of goalie Chris Osgood to make it 3-3.
Neither team scored after an extra 40 minutes of hockey. During the intermission between the fifth and sixth periods, Sykora told his teammates he would score the winner. After Red Wings forward Jiri Hudler received a four-minute penalty for high sticking Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi, Sykora scored a power-play goal from the right face-off circle.

They said it: "He was outstanding tonight. He was outstanding in overtime. No doubt it's the most important win in his career." -- Penguins coach Michel Therrien on Marc-Andre Fleury
Historical significance: It was the fifth-longest game in Cup Final history, and the first to reach the third overtime since 2002, when Red Wings forward Igor Larionov scored at 14:47 for a 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes. … Sykora also ended the fourth-longest playoff game when the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim defeated the Dallas Stars 4-3 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals at 48 seconds of the fifth overtime on April 24, 2003. … It was Detroit's second home loss in the 2008 playoffs (9-2).
Iconic moment: Fleury made a highlight-reel save at 17:12 of the second period when Red Wings forwards Mikael Samuelsson and Valtteri Filppula skated in 2-on-1 and tried to surprise Fleury with consecutive passes, but the Penguins goalie got across his crease and managed to get his left skate on Samuelsson's shot.

Telling stat:Fleury made 24 saves in 49:57 of overtime; 13 of them came in the first extra period, when Pittsburgh was outshot 13-2.