Top 20 Cup Final games since 2000: No. 14

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 6 of the 2008 Final between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, which was on 10 ballots and received 98 points, including one first-place vote.

2008 Game 6: Detroit Red Wings 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2

The Red Wings, the top seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, won their 11th championship and fourth in 11 seasons with a 3-2 victory at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh on June 4, 2008.
Detroit took a 1-0 lead in Game 6 on a power-play goal by defenseman Brian Rafalski at 5:03 of the first period, and forward Valtteri Filppula made it 2-0 8:07 into the second period. Forward Evgeni Malkin scored on the power play 15:26 into the second to bring Pittsburgh within 2-1.
Center Henrik Zetterberg gave the Red Wings a 3-1 lead 7:36 into the third period when his shot from the left face-off circle trickled between the pads of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who dropped to his backside and accidentally knocked the puck across the goal line. It was Zetterberg's 13th goal of the playoffs, tied for the NHL lead with teammate Johan Franzen, and his 27th point, tying him for the lead with Penguins forward Sidney Crosby.

Marian Hossa scored a power-play goal with 1:27 remaining to cut the lead to 3-2, but Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood made the save on shots by Crosby and Hossa in the final minute.
They said it: "I'm very proud of being a captain of the Red Wings. It felt great being the first guy on our team to touch the Cup. I've been over here for a long time and I watched Steve Yzerman hoist it three times in the past, and I'm very proud of being the first European (captain to win the Stanley Cup)." -- defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom
Historical significance: Zetterberg, who had a goal and an assist in Game 6, was voted winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. … The Red Wings never fell behind in any series in the 2008 postseason and finished 13-1 when scoring first. … The Red Wings clinched each of the four series on the road.

Iconic moment:Lidstrom became the first Europe-born captain to hoist the Stanley Cup, and then handed it to forward Dallas Drake, a Cup champion for the first time in his 15 NHL seasons.

Telling stat:Osgood made 20 saves in Game 6 and finished 14-4 with a 1.55 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in the 2008 playoffs after replacing Dominik Hasek in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Nashville Predators. Osgood allowed 30 goals in 19 games (18 starts) and had consecutive shutouts in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final.