Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Countdown To Christmas – Cup 10

The Detroit Red Wings have won 11 Stanley Cup Championships in their storied history. As we countdown to Christmas, Octopus Thrower also counts down and recaps all of the Red Wings Stanley Cup titles.

Stanley Cup Season #: 2002

What Else Happened That Year: The terrorist attacks of 9/11 occurred right before the season started, the first movies of “The Lord of the Rings” and “Spiderman” trilogies arrive in theaters, and “American Idol” airs on television for the first time.

Who Detroit Defeated: Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1

Team Leaders:

• Goals: Brendan Shanahan (37)
• Assists: Nicklas Lidstrom (50)
• Points: Brendan Shanahan (75)
• PIM: Chris Chelios (126)
• Wins: Dominek Hasek (41)
• GAA: Dominek Hasek (2.17)

Season Recap: The 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings are arguably the greatest hockey team ever assembled, the best group of players that money could buy (in the pre-salary cap era). Detroit was coming off three straight seasons of early playoff exits, and felt they needed to make a splash to reverse this trend. Mike Illitch and Ken Holland then proceeded to make possibly the biggest splash the NHL had ever seen.

First, Holland traded for the NHL’s top goaltender, Dominik Hasek. After years of playing spectacularly in Buffalo only to be let down by his teammates, Hasek asked to be moved to a contender that summer and the Red Wings were happy to oblige. Later in the summer, Holland then went out and signed free-agent scorers Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull. Each was on the last lap of their careers and likewise wanted to play for a team with an immediate shot of winning the Cup. For a team that already had all-stars Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Fedorov, and Nick Lidstrom, adding this kind of star power was unprecedented in the NHL. Going into the season no one questioned the talent level of the roster, but everyone around the league was anxious to see how this experiment in team chemistry was going to play out.

Those superstars gelled instantly. The team soared out to a 22-3-1-1 (remember ties?) start over the first two months of the season, and never looked back. The team hit their rough spots here and there as the season progressed, just as any team would be expected to over 82 games, but the team finished at 51-17-10-4, good enough for 116 points and the #1 seed for the Western Conference playoffs.

Even in today’s NHL, anybody can tell you that the worst time for a slump is right as the season is ending and the teams are gearing up for the playoffs. Unfortunately for the 2002 Red Wings, that is exactly when they went through their worst slump of the season. The team went winless in their last seven regular season games, and when their first series started with the #8 seeded Vancouver Canucks, Detroit had a hard time flipping the switch. The Red Wings dropped the first two games of the series, both at home. Critics from around the league were wondering if Head Coach Scotty Bowman would be able to jumpstart his star-studded team before it was too late. Then, with the game tied late in Game 3, defenseman Nick Lidstrom scored a goal that would set the tone for the Wings for the rest of the series.

After falling down 0-2 in the series and looking like Game 3 would be another nail-biter, Lidstrom’s blast helped right the course for the Red Wings, who went on to win that game as well as the next three to take the series 4-2.

In Round 2, the Red Wings faced off against their Central Division rival, the St. Louis Blues. The Blues played Detroit tight during the regular season and won the both of the teams’ final two meetings, but Detroit carried the momentum from their previous series and dispatched St. Louis 4 games to 1. Dominek Hasek led the way for the Wings, allowing only seven goals in the five series games. Ending the series in just five games allowed Detroit to get the rest they needed before facing their toughest test of the season.

Waiting for Detroit in the Western Conference Finals was the defending Stanley Cup Champions and their heated rival, the Colorado Avalanche. After their gladiator battles in the late 90’s and having lost to Colorado the last two times these teams squared off in the playoffs, it only seemed fair that this was the team Detroit needed to beat if they wanted to play for the Stanley Cup.

The two teams battled tooth and nail each game, with each one being a fight until the end. But after five close games, it was Colorado who was up 3-2 and looking to clinch the series on home ice in Game 6. Facing elimination for the first time that season, Detroit  knew they had to play their best hockey of the season. However, having a little luck go your way never hurts either.

Shanahan beat Patrick Roy on the now famous “Statue of Liberty” play, and with Hasek shutting out Colarado on the other end, Detroit was able to win and force a Game 7. And speaking of the number 7, that was Detroit’s margin of victory in the series’ final game. Seven. As in, 7-0, which ended up being the final score of what was supposed to be a climatic finish to an unbelievable series. Detroit chased Patrick Roy with four goals in the first period and never looked back. After the nerve-racking six games that preceded it however, I’m sure no one on Detroit’s side minded that sigh of relief.

After that series-of-the-ages, and Stanley Cup Final with the Carolina Hurricanes almost seemed like a letdown, both for the Red Wings and for hockey fans everywhere. On one side was Detroit, the best team in the league and who had just knocked off the defending champs. On the other side was the Hurricanes, and team that finished under .500 in the regular season and only made the playoffs by being the least bad team in a Southeast Division that was full of them.

And for Game 1 of the finals, “letdown” might be the perfect word. Detroit came out flat and lost 3-2 in overtime. Even Game 2 started out slowly for the Red Wings, and I’m sure more than a few members of Hockeytown were wondering if they were watching that series versus Vancouver all over again. Luckily for Detroit, they were able to find their game and come out with a 3-1 victory to even the series.

Heading back to Carolina, it was hard to figure what was going on with Detroit. They had looked slow for 1 1/2 games; would they be able to turn it on against the lowly Carolina Hurricanes? Game 3 was Carolina’s best game of the series, but Detroit was able to match stride for stride. The game ended up being an instant classic, going to three overtime periods before being ended by Detroit’s Igor Larionov. Now that Detroit finally had the lead in the series, they never looked back. They dominated for Game 4 in Carolina and Game 5 back in Detroit to win the series and the Stanley Cup.

For a team so loaded with talent, the championship still carried just as much value. Scotty Bowman won his ninth and final Stanley Cup, and announced his retirement minutes after the final game ended. Dominek Hasek won his fist Cup, as did Luc Robitaille. Chris Chelios won his first since he was just a kid way back in 1986. Other veterans like Steve Duschene and Frederik Olausson also got their name etched in the trophy for the first time.

Next: Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Countdown: Cup #9

The names and the accolades of this 2002 Detroit Red Wing team could go on and on. Perhaps the number that sums it up best is 10, as in the number of Hall of Fame players who were on this team. That number could even grow to 11, depending on Pavel Datsyuk’s future. It may have only been for a single season, but what a season it was. Age and injuries eventually caught up to this team, and losing a coach like Scotty Bowman would hurt any team’s chances moving forward, but this team may have been the single greatest collection of talent that the hockey world has ever seen.