2002 Stanley Cup Finals
The 2002 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2001–02 season, and the culmination of the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings and the Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes. It was Detroit's twenty-second appearance in the Finals, their previous appearance being a win in 1998. It was Carolina's first appearance in the Finals in franchise history. Detroit defeated Carolina in five games to win their tenth Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
| 2002 Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| * indicates periods of overtime | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location(s) | Detroit: Joe Louis Arena (1, 2, 5) Raleigh: Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena (3, 4) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaches | Detroit: Scotty Bowman Carolina: Paul Maurice | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Captains | Detroit: Steve Yzerman Carolina: Ron Francis | |||||||||||||||||||||
| National anthems | Detroit: Karen Newman Carolina: Unknown | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Referees | Bill McCreary (1, 3, 5) Stephen Walkom (1, 3, 5) Don Koharski (2, 4) Paul Devorski (2, 4) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | June 4–13, 2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Nicklas Lidstrom (Red Wings) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Series-winning goal | Brendan Shanahan (14:04, second, G5) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Red Wings: Chris Chelios (2013) Sergei Fedorov (2015) Dominik Hasek (2014) Brett Hull (2009) Igor Larionov (2008) Nicklas Lidstrom (2015) Luc Robitaille (2009) Brendan Shanahan (2013) Steve Yzerman (2009) Hurricanes: Ron Francis (2007) Coaches: Scotty Bowman (1991) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Networks | Canada: (English): CBC (French): SRC United States: (English): ESPN (1–2), ABC (3–5) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | (CBC) Bob Cole and Harry Neale (SRC) Claude Quenneville and Michel Bergeron (ESPN/ABC) Gary Thorne and Bill Clement (NHL International) Dave Strader and Joe Micheletti | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The Red Wings became the first team in NHL history to win the Cup after starting the playoffs with two losses at home. After losing the first two games in the Conference Quarterfinals to the Vancouver Canucks, the Red Wings won 16 of their next 21 games en route to win their third Cup since 1997 for coach Scotty Bowman. Bowman won his ninth Cup as a head coach (he had previously won it in that capacity with the Montreal Canadiens in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979, with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992, and with Detroit in 1997 and 1998), surpassing the mark he held jointly with Montreal coach Toe Blake. It was the last Detroit championship to feature members of the Russian Five, as Sergei Fedorov and Igor Larionov were still with the team.