Red Wings lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 1-2 in Game 7 of the Finals

Goals: Talbot (2), Ericsson (1)

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com

The Spirit of Detroit statue is dressed in a Detroit Red Wings jersey during the playoffs.

It was a long road for the veteran Red Wings who ended up stunned at the end of game seven. The Wings stood speechless when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup at the Joe. Marian Hossa, a former Penguin, got to watch his old team finish with a victory.

The Wings swept the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first four games of round one. The Wings played a tough second round with Anaheim. That series ended up going all the way to game seven when the Wings won, 4-3. Round three was a little easier for the Wings when they beat the Chicago Blackhawks in four games to one.

The Stanley Cup Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins was very difficult for the Wings as it went all the way to game seven. This series was all about home ice. The Wings won its first three games at home and the Penguins won all of its games at Mellon Arena.

The first period of game seven ended with no score. However, Pittsburgh made 10 shots while the Red Wings made six shots.

The second period featured two goals by the Penguins. Both goals were scored by Maxime Talbot. The first was a wrist shot at 1:13 with an assist by Evgeni Malkin. The second was a snap shot at 10:07 with an assist by Chris Kunitz and Rob Scuderi. The Penguins made seven shots in the second period while the wings made 11 shots.

In the third period, the Red Wings came back to life. Jonathan Ericsson scored for the Wings at 13:53. It was a slap shot that was assisted by Nicklas Lidstrom and Jiri Hurdler. The Red Wings also made another shot towards the end of the third period that hit the goal post. There was also many last-minute attempts by the Wings as the clock ticked down to zero.

It appeared that the Red Wings were very tired. After all, many of the Red Wings players are much older than the young Penguins team. Many of the Penguins are between the ages of 20 and 38. Meanwhile, much of the Wings are aged between 22 and 47. The Wings also kept its star players on the ice much longer than normal. The Penguins gave their star players more time to rest and shorter shifts on the ice.

Sidney Crosby of the Penguins was the youngest captain in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup. This is the third Stanley Cup for the Penguins. The Conn Smythe Trophy was presented to Evgeni Malkin (center) of the Penguins.

Many Red Wings players are nominated for other NHL awards. Pavel Datsyuk is a finalist for the Selke Trophy, which is awarded to the player with the most skill in the defensive component of the game, the Hart Trophy, to the player judged most valuable to his team and the Lady Byng Trophy, awarded to the player with the best sportsmanship. Datsyuk is also up for the Pearson Award, which is given to the most outstanding player as judged by members of the NHL Players Association. Chris Chelios is up for the Masterton Trophy, which is awarded to the player with the best perserverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. The winners will be announced on June 18 at the NHL Awards ceremony.

The Red Wings will try again next year. Hopefully against a different team... On a positive note, the Wings are still the Western Conference Champs!