How ‘Swede’ It Is: Wings Capture Stanley Cup

Nicklas Lidstrom – the native of Västerås, Sweden - became the first European to captain a Stanley Cup winner. And Henrik Zetterberg – the native of Njurunda, Sweden – joined him as the first European born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy – awarded to the playoff MVP.

Brian Rafalski opened the scoring with a power play marker at 5:03 of the first, with veteran Darryl Sydor looking on from the sin bin. Rafalski’s wrist shot from point blank range deflected off Penguins defenceman Hal Gill before eluding a screened Marc-Andre Fleury. The Red Wings defenceman was the beneficiary of a splendid backhand no-look pass from Henrik Zetterberg – who successfully drew the Penguins’ defence to him, creating a plethora of open space for Rafalski.

The Wings doubled their lead mid-way through the second as Valtteri Filppula took advantage of a juicy rebound on Mikael Samuelsson’s wrist shot from just inside the blue-line, slipping a backhand through the five-hole of the Pens’ goaltender. It would be completely unfair to blame this devastating loss on Marc-Andre Fleury; however, this was one goal that he would surely like to have back.

Before Game 6, it wouldn’t have been unreasonable to suggest that Russian sensation Evgeni Malkin was proving to be a liability to his team due to his poor decisions and continuous turnovers, rather than an asset. In Game 6, Malkin – the Hart Trophy nominee – once again proved why he is just that; however, it was too little too late. Malkin gave the Pens a much needed spark late in the second period as he ripped a slapshot past goaltender Chris Osgood, cutting the Wings’ lead in half.