On This Day: A New Generation

On This Day ends the week with a look back at at the 2008 Eastern Conference Final. The clash between the Flyers and Penguins ended with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin advancing to their first-ever Stanley Cup Final.

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The series commenced on May 9, 2008. Evgeni Malkin stole the show by scoring with 7 seconds left in the first period to take a 3-2 lead, and did so again with a shorthanded goal in the second period, giving the Penguins a 1-0 series lead after Game 1.

Game 2 saw Maxime Talbot score to take the lead in the third period, and Jordan Staal added an empty-netter to give the Penguins a 4-2 win to extend the series to 2-0 in the Penguins’ favor. The win was the Penguins’ seventh consecutive home playoff win, a franchise record, improving on a six-game mark from the 1992 playoffs.

Game 3 of the series was played in Philadelphia. Even behind enemy lines, the Penguins struck quickly with goals from Ryan Whitney and Marian Hossa within the first eight minutes of the contest. Hossa added his second goal on an empty net to seal the victory with a final score of 4-1.

The Penguins were forced to put the brooms back in the closet for Game 4, as they would lose 4-2. The Flyers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and never looked back. The Penguins fought back, however, getting two goals from Jordan Staal in the third period, but Joffrey Lupul’s second goal was able to cement a Flyers victory.

The series returned to Pittsburgh for Game 5, where the Penguins won their eighth consecutive home game by a final score of 6-0. The victory would see the Penguins advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1992.

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Fast forward ten years later and not much has changed... except for the Penguins winning three more Stanley Cups.

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