Stanley Cup: DETROIT RED WINGS 2008 NHL CHAMPIONS!

The rafters at Joe Louis Arena will have to be reinforced because the Detroit Red Wings have another banner to hang after tonight. They are now undefeated in 13 consecutive Game Six contests.

Detroit got a 1-0 lead in the first period thanks to the sharp shooting of former Wisconsin Badger great Brian Rafalski, who was a free agent acquisition made to soften the blow of losing Matthieu Schneider. It was a power play goal just 5:03 into the game, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk.

The second period saw Detroit extend their lead to 2-0 on a Valtteri Filppula score 8:07 in, assisted by Mikael Samuelsson and Niklas Kronwall. Evgeni Malkin answered with his first goal of the series at 15:26 on the power play, assisted by Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa.

Zetterberg re-established the Wings' two-goal margin with a goal 7:36 into the third, assisted by Datsyuk and Kronwall, and it looked like Detroit was on its way.

However, with 1:27 to go, Pittsburgh showed its mettle again when Hossa notched a goal, assisted by Sergei Gonchar and Malkin. But even with their goalie pulled, they could not get the equalizer for the second game in a row.

This time, Pittsburgh held Detroit to 30 shots on goal and managed 22 themselves, right on the average Osgood has faced. They blocked twice as many shots as Detroit (14-7) and had a 37-28 edge in hits while still being assessed for two fewer penalties.

However, they also had 11 more giveaways than takeaways, while their more experienced counterparts had only one more. Moreover, they won only 40 percent of the face-offs on their home ice. Those two stats are vital when playing a great puck possession team like Detroit.

Detroit was just on another plane compared to everyone else, and Pittsburgh should be proud of the battle their Penguins gave. They can expect to see them playing in June regularly in the coming years.