Stanley Cup final: Detroit champion.

Yesterday, game six of the Stanley Cup final was played at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. After defeating the Detroit Red Wings in game five and avoiding elimination, the Pittsburgh Penguins were back on home ice hoping to extend the series to a seventh game.

The Red Wings played much better in this game compared to game five. Early into the contest during a man-advantage, Brian Rafalski opened the score with a wrist shot that got past Marc-André Fleury.

Valteri Fillipula doubled the Wings lead into the second period on a rebound given by the Penguins goaltender. But the Penguins refused to give up and Evgeni Malkin finally scored his first goal in this final to cut the Wings lead to a single goal.

Into the third period, the Wings regained their two goals lead when a shot from Henrik Zetterberg got thru Marc-André Fleury. After a few seconds of indecision, Fleury pushed the puck inside his own goal while he was looking to cover the loose puck. This goal prooved to be a killer for the Penguins.

Marian Hossa closed the gap to a single goal during the final minutes of the game when he deflected a shot behind goaltender Chris Osgood. The Penguins fans saw their protege knock on the door during the very exciting final seconds of the game but the puck refused to enter the Wings net.

Final score: Detroit Red Wings 3 - Pittsburgh Penguins 2 (Detroit wins the series by 4-2)

The Detroit Red Wings are the 2008 Stanley Cup champions. Henrik Zetterberg was named the most valuable player of the playoffs and received the Conn Smythe Trophy from Gary Betteman. The Red Wings are also the first team to ever win the Stanley Cup with an european player as captain.

The 2007-2008 season is now over and hockey fans from all around the world will now have to wait a couple of months to watch their favorite sport again.

(Piscute: The Detroit Red Wings, Canadian Press.)