The 2008 Stanley Cup Final marked the first time that the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins have met in postseason play. The Red Wings and Penguins did not play each other during the 2007–08 regular season.

This was the first time since 1994 that the Finals did not end in a sweep.

The last image of our group has a different shade on the ring… little less contrasty.  It’s one of the team’s pro scout’s ring.  It is possible that 2 different sets were made but such information wasn’t found.  It was also brought up that it might either be a lighthing issue while the picture was taken and even just the fact that the rings was kept cleaner.  Whatever it is, I guess that both models will have their own fans.

Two of the most notable athletes in Chicago sports history, Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita made their first Stanley Cup appearances. Hull scored two in the first game including the winner, and Mikita scored the winner in game five.

This would be the last Stanley Cup finals series to be played in the Montreal Forum, and the last time Wayne Gretzky would play in the finals as well. It was Montreal’s first trip to the finals in four years, while it was the first-ever trip to the finals for the Kings in their 26-year history. As of 2008, this is the most recent time that a Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup Championship. It is also (to date) the last time the Canadiens have advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals. With the Canadiens winning, Gretzky failed to become the first Stanley Cup captain on two teams (Mark Messier would be successful in that attempt the following year).

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim entered their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history after upsetting two heavily favored teams: sweeping the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Detroit Red Wings, defeating the Dallas Stars in six games, plus sweeping the upstart Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference Finals thanks to the stellar goaltending of Jean-Sebastien Giguere, only allowing one goal during the entire series. Backing up Giguere were players such as Paul Kariya, Petr Sykora, Adam Oates, plus Rob Niedermayer, brother of then-Devils star defenceman Scott Niedermayer. This series was memorable for two brothers on different teams competing for the same prize.

This is Martin Brodeur’s ring as it can be read on the right side of it.

Anaheim had home ice advantage for the series, as they finished the regular season with 110 points to Ottawa’s 105. The attention leading into the finals was Ottawa being “Canada’s Team” despite Anaheim having five more Canadian skaters than the Senators. Many fans were saying that the Stanley Cup needed to be brought back to Canada after a 14 year drought (up to that point, the last time a Canadian team hoisted the Stanley Cup was done by the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, who defeated the Los Angeles Kings).

Here is the complete playoff roster of the Ducks.

		Goaltenders
#		Player	GP	MINS	GA	GAA	Save%	SO
30		Ilya Bryzgalov	5	267	10	2.25	.922	0
35		Jean-Sebastien Giguere	13	769	24	1.87	.931	1

		Defensemen
#		Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
5		Richard Jackman	3	1	0	1	0	0
21		Sean O’Donnell	16	0	1	1	+4	8
23		Francois Beauchemin	15	3	4	7	+3	10
25		Chris Pronger – A	15	3	11	14	+6	22
27		Scott Niedermayer – C	16	3	6	9	+1	20
33		Joe DiPenta	14	0	0	0	0	4
34		Aaron Rome	1	0	0	0	-2	0
40		Kent Huskins	16	0	1	1	+2	11

		Forwards
#		Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
8		Teemu Selanne	16	5	7	12	+2	8
10		Corey Perry	16	4	5	9	+2	27
14		Chris Kunitz	11	1	5	6	+2	19
15		Ryan Getzlaf	16	5	8	13	+1	24
16		George Parros	5	0	0	0	0	10
17		Dustin Penner	16	2	3	5	+2	0
18		Drew Miller	1	0	0	0	0	0
19		Andy McDonald	16	5	2	7	+3	6
22		Todd Marchant	6	0	2	2	0	12
24		Brad May	13	0	1	1	-2	24
26		Samuel Pahlsson	16	2	8	10	+6	12
32		Travis Moen	16	4	5	9	+2	20
38		Ryan Shannon	11	0	0	0	0	6
44		Rob Niedermayer – A	16	3	4	7	+5	39
45		Shawn Thornton	11	0	0	0	-3	17