The Pittsburgh Penguins put forth a valiant effort in their bid to make the Stanley Cup Finals an interesting series, but in the end they fell victim to the Detroit Red Wing’s machine-like efficiency and stellar team play. While the ‘Wings may have made it look easy at times, the players and coaches will tell you that this is simply not the case. “It’s never easy,” commented goalie Chris Osgood, despite the fact that he started the series with 2 straight shutouts in which he was only forced to stop 41 combined shots from a Penguins offense that was clearly suffering from the lackluster play of superstar forward Evgeni Malkin. Many of Osgood’s teammates echoed his sentiments in post game interviews.

Osgood got the job done in net for Detroit, but it was the phenomenal two-way play of Henrik Zetterberg that earned him the Conne Smythe Trophy, as most valuable player to his team during the playoffs. The award is decided upon collectively by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. He finished the playoffs tied for first in goals (13), points (27) and +/- (16). While he was solid throughout the playoffs, his most impressive performance came in game 4 when he single handedly killed off an entire 5 on 3 penalty kill, almost scoring in the process. He scored the Cup-winning goal in the third period of game 6, capping off what has been one of the most complete playoff performances by any player in recent memory. He is only the second Swede to win the prestigious award, the first being his Detroit teammate and captain, Nicklas Lidstrom.

While Zetterberg was thrust onto centerstage for his notable performances, he was most certainly not the only Red Wing’s player worthy of recognition for their strong play. Johan Franzen continued his strong second half play in the first 2 rounds before being injured in game 1 of the Western Conference Final. Despite missing over 4 games, he still managed to tie Zetterberg for the lead in Playoff goal scoring with 13 goals in just 16 games. Nicklas Kronwall delivered his finest performance yet in his brief NHL career, dishing out timely hits and helping to shut down Pittsburgh’s dynamic offense. Pavel Datsyuk was his usual self, scoring timely goals and setting up Swedish linemates Zetterberg and Holmstrom. While he wasn’t providing offense he was contributing defensively as well, back checking with fervor and shutting down Pittsburgh’s potent powerplay unit. Role players like Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby provided the same gritty, defensive play that they have perfected in Detroit over the past decade. Draper also provided clutch faceoff wins, including an astounding 15 for 18 performance in game 6. Chris Osgood was brilliant when he needed to be and patient during the long stretches where he saw little action. Jiri Hudler was another unheralded player who quietly stuck to the system and played a sound defensive game while also chipping in offensively at times.

A special congratulations is reversed for Nicklas Lidstrom. Sweden’s silky smooth perennial All-Star defenseman was once again nearly flawless as he made history, becoming the first European player to captain an NHL team to the Stanley Cup. He showed why he has won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman for 5 of the last 6 seasons, and why he will almost assuredly win in a landslide this year. Not the most vocal of captains, he led by example, staying calm and keeping his poise even during the most pressure filled situations.

While the Cup presentation ceremony was not as emotional as in years past, it had it’s moments nonetheless. After taking the first skate, Lidstrom passed the Cup off to Dallas Drake, who got his first meeting with Lord Stanley’s famous mug after 16 years of plying his trade in the National Hockey League. He then handed it off to Daniel Cleary, another first time winner not only personally, but also for the entire province of Newfoundland. A number of players could be seen crying, many with their families on the ice with them.

For Pittsburgh the loss is hard to swallow, but it also serves as a reminder of their youth and inexperience. Their captain, Sidney Crosby, is only 20 years old and wasn’t even born when Detroit defenseman Chris Chelios entered the league. The same is true for a number of Pittsburgh’s core players, including Russian superstar Evgeni Malkin. His play during the final series was a testament to his lack of experience. He was a completely different player than the Malkin of the first three rounds. At times you didn’t notice him, and when you did it was for brutal giveaways, bad passes, and making bad decisions at even worse times. When he finally showed signs of returning to form in game 6, it was far too late for the Penguins.

Penguins coach Michael Therrien recognized that a lack of experience was what hurt his team the most and although he says, “We were that close.” he also admits, “…they [Detroit] deserved to win the Stanley Cup.” While Pittsburgh fell just short this time around, their team is young and they will be back next year hungry for more. As Therrien commented after the game, “that’s going to make us stronger in the future.”

This is the 11th Stanley Cup for the Detroit Red Wings, and their 4th in the last 11 years. They are the closest thing to a dynasty that the NHL has seen since the 80’s Oilers and they have the hardware to prove it. In the past 13 NHL seasons, the Red Wings have captured the President’s Trophy 6 times, have made it to the Conference Quarterfinals 13 times, the Conference Semifinals 10 times, the Conference Finals 7 times, the Stanley Cup Finals 5 times and have won the Cup 4 times. They have established themselves as perennial contenders, the team to beat in the regular season and the standard by which other teams measure themselves. They have not done this by making big trades and signing big name free agents, but rather by drafting smart and developing prospects within their system. With their wealth of young players and stars, the Pittsburgh Penguins will try to imitate this success in the coming years. Players such as Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, Letang and Staal will certainly make this team competitive at the very least.