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.)

Stanley Cup final: Penguins wins a game for the ages.

Yesterday, game five of the Stanley Cup final was presented at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Up 3-1 in the series, the Detroit Red Wings had the opportunity to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins one more time and win the championship in front of their fans.

The first period was dominated by the Penguins who played with desperation. Marian Hossa opened the score halfway into the period with his 11th goal of the playoffs. Then, Adam Hall doubled Pittsburgh's lead before the end of the first frame.

But the Red Wings shifted gears and started to play better as the game went on. Early into the second period, Darren Helm put one past goaltender Marc-André Fleury making it a 2-1 game.

Into the third period, Pavel Datsuk tied the game at 2 with his 10th goal of the playoffs during a man-advantage. Only three minutes later, Brian Rafalski sent the Wings ahead for the first time of the contest. The crowd was loud, screaming ''we want the Cup''. The Stanley Cup was out of it's case and ready to make it's appearance on the ice.

The Penguins looked down and out as time was ticking away. They pulled Fleury out of his net to benefit of a sixth skater, it was all or nothing. The strategy paid off as Maxime Talbot jumped on a rebound given by goaltender Chris Osgood to score the biggest goal of his career. The game was tied at 3 and both teams headed to overtime.

Both teams battled during two entire overtime periods, Marc-André Fleury was keeping his team alive with every save he made, hoping for someone among his team to score the winning goal. The Penguins goaltender never flinched as the pressure was on him to make a fatal mistake.

Then during the third overtime period, a double minor penalty awarded to Jiri Hudler opened the door to the Penguins who took advantage of it. Petr Sykora scored the game-winner and extended the series to a sixth game.

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

(Picture: Pittsburgh bench, Canadian Press.)

Stanley Cup final: Detroit, one hand on the trophy.

Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost on home ice for the first time in these playoffs. The Detroit Red Wings are now only one game away from being sacred champions.

With a 2-1 victory at Mellon Arena in game four, the Red Wings will now host game five at Joe Louis Arena tomorrow and they will try to win the Stanley Cup in front of their fans.

Yesterday, the Penguins scored first early into the first period during a man-advantage when Marian Hossa scored his 10th goal of the playoffs. Hossa stickhandled his way at the side of the net and scored on a mesmerized Chris Osgood.

But the Red Wings tied the game at 1 five minutes later from defense men Niklas Lidstrom who scored his third goal with a shot from the blue line. Marc-André Fleury was screened by his own defense men and missed the puck.

The winning goal of the contest was scored during the third period when a high backhand shot from Jiri Hudler was mishandled by Fleury and bounced in the net. The Penguins had an ultimate chance of tying the game with a double man-advantage but weren't able to convert it into a goal.

Final score: Detroit Red Wings 2 - Pittsburgh Penguins 1 (Detroit leads the series by 3-1)

(Picture: Wings celebrates, Getty Images.)