13 Jun 2009

Penguins win Stanley Cup

5:11 pm on 13 June 2009

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat Detroit 2-1 to win the Stanley Cup and deny the Red Wings' bid to repeat as NHL ice hockey champions.

Max Talbot scored twice in the second period for Pittsburgh, who overcame the loss to injury of captain Sidney Crosby and defied history to capture the Cup for the third time.

It marked the first game of the series in which the visiting team won.

In fact, the Penguins became just the third team in NHL finals history to win a seventh game on the road to lift the title, joining Montreal (1971) and Toronto (1945) as they secured a 4-3 series triumph.

And the Penguins avenged their painful loss to Detroit in six games in last year's finals, when the Red Wings clinched the title in Pittsburgh.

The Pens became the first team to win the title the season after losing in the finals since Edmonton did so 25 years ago against the New York Islanders.

The Red Wings were trying to become the first repeat champions since they won back-to-back titles in 1997-98.

Instead, the Penguins claimed the Cup for the first time since Mario Lemieux, now the club's owner, led them to titles in 1991 and 1992.