Entering the 2008–09 season as the Stanley Cup Champions, the Detroit Red Wings signed head coach Mike Babcock to three-year contract extension.

[6] Before the trade deadline, the Penguins acquired Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin from the Anaheim Ducks and the New York Islanders respectively.

Detroit scored the first goal of the game at 13:38 into the first period when Brad Stuart's shot missed wide left, bounced off the end boards, and then deflected off the back of Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's leg into the net.

The Penguins tied the game at 18:37 when Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood mishandled a shot by Evgeni Malkin, allowing Ruslan Fedotenko to score.

The Penguins dominated the early portion of the second period, but Osgood kept the game even, including when he bailed his team out by stopping Malkin on a breakaway.

After the Red Wings' Niklas Kronwall was sent to the penalty box for cross checking, Evgeni Malkin fired from the slot, and a scramble in front of the net ensued after Osgood gave up a rebound.

Then at 2:47, Justin Abdelkader gave the Red Wings their third goal of the game, as he moved in slowly against the Pittsburgh defence and blasted a shot that caught Marc-Andre Fleury off guard as it landed in the net.

Pittsburgh got off to a strong offensive start and scored first at 4:48 of the opening period when Evgeni Malkin set up Maxime Talbot, who fired a one-timed snapshot.

After Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik was called for interference, Johan Franzen responding by scoring a goal at 11:33 with under ten seconds left in the penalty.

Defenceman Kris Letang fanned on a one-time attempt as he took a pass from Malkin, but regained control of the puck and fired a wrist shot into the net.

At 10:29, Sergei Gonchar drilled a slapshot from near the blue line, which sailed through traffic and beat a screened Chris Osgood to give the Penguins the lead.

Detroit could not mount a late surge with the extra attacker on the ice, and Talbot added an empty net goal at 19:03 for his second of the game to seal the victory.

Detroit found themselves at an early disadvantage, as a tripping call on Niklas Kronwall gave Pittsburgh a power play just over a minute into the game.

The goal occurred after Chris Osgood stopped a Jordan Staal shot, then Kris Letang fired a rebound wide that was picked up by Malkin and deposited behind the outstretched goaltender.

Detroit gained a huge boost in Game 5, as star two-way player Pavel Datsyuk played for the first time in the series after returning from a foot injury.

The Penguins were the team that began the match with energy, dominating the first five minutes, and producing a variety of chances from the Evgeni Malkin–Ruslan Fedotenko–Maxime Talbot line.

A slashing minor on Sergei Gonchar eventually allowed a high wrist shot by Niklas Kronwall at 8:35 to find the back of the net.

An elbowing penalty on Evgeni Malkin led to a Brian Rafalski goal at 11:34, which saw the defenceman take a pass from Datsyuk and score on a wrist shot from the right circle.

Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made a big early save as he stopped a one-timer by Henrik Zetterberg, who had just received a pass from Pavel Datsyuk on a two-on-one rush.

Detroit's Chris Osgood equalled Fleury's early brilliance, as he stopped Sidney Crosby on two separate power plays, first by stuffing his attempt to jam home a puck in the crease, then by denying him on a rush through the slot in transition.

Two Red Wing defenders went to Talbot, which gave Kennedy a clear lane to walk in front of the net and lift a shot high over Osgood.

However, with Fleury out of position, Pittsburgh defenceman Rob Scuderi stepped in front of the loose puck and blocked three Franzen shots with his skates to preserve a win.

Evgeni Malkin used his skates to block Stuart's pass, and the puck found its way to Talbot, who patiently waited to find a shooting lane behind goaltender Chris Osgood.

The play began with Chris Kunitz splitting the Detroit defence with a pass in his own zone, allowing Talbot and Tyler Kennedy to move in on an odd man rush.

At 13:53, the Red Wings got on the board, as Jonathan Ericsson drilled a one-timed slapshot behind Fleury from near the blue line, after receiving a pass from Niklas Lidstrom.

CBC had a new broadcast team calling the Finals with Jim Hughson as play-by-play announcer, and Craig Simpson as colour commentator.

[21] The first two games of the series were played on consecutive nights due to NBC's scheduling, specifically to avoid putting a contest on the network during the debut week of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on June 1–5.

They also became the third team to win a game seven in the Stanley Cup Finals as the visitor, the first since the Montreal Canadiens in 1971 (the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1945 being the other).

It also gives the state of Pennsylvania three champions in the four major professional sports in a span of nine months, with the Philadelphia Phillies winning the World Series the previous October.

[28] Detroit's loss gave Mike Babcock the unfortunate distinction of being the first coach in NHL history to lose game seven of a Stanley Cup Finals with two different teams.