# 2008–09 Detroit Red Wings season

The 2008–09 Detroit Red Wings season was the 83rd season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. The Detroit Red Wings attempted to defend their Stanley Cup title, but they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games in the Stanley Cup Finals, the team they defeated in the finals the previous season. The Red Wings roster featured former Penguin Marian Hossa, who signed a one-year contract with Detroit during the summer of 2008, as well as former Penguins backup Ty Conklin. With the elimination of the MLB's New York Yankees from the playoffs for the first time since 1993, the Red Wings owned the longest active playoff streak in North American sports, qualifying every year since 1991.
They won 51 games during the regular season, their fourth consecutive season of 50 or more victories.

## Off-season

June 9: Dominik Hasek announced his retirement from the NHL.
June 10: Detroit signed head coach Mike Babcock to three-year contract extension.
June 11: Assistant coach Todd McLellan signed with the San Jose Sharks as their new head coach.
June 30: The Detroit Red Wings re-signed defenseman Andreas Lilja to a two-year contract.
July 1: Brad Stuart re-signed with the Detroit Red Wings. It is a four-year deal worth $3.75 million per season, and a no-trade clause for the first two.
July 2: Marian Hossa signed a one-year, $7.45 million contract.
July 15: Dallas Drake announced his retirement from the NHL.
July 23: Ryan Oulahen re-signed with the Detroit Red Wings with a one-year deal.
July 30: Valtteri Filppula re-signed on a five-year, $15 million contract.

## Regular season

Excluding six shootout-winning goals, the Red Wings scored 289 goals during the regular season, the most of all 30 teams in the NHL. They also scored the most power-play goals, with 90, and had the best power-play percentage, at 25.50% (90 for 353).

### Divisional standings

Central Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | y – Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 51 | 21 | 10 | 295 | 244 | 112 |
| 2 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 46 | 24 | 12 | 264 | 216 | 104 |
| 3 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 233 | 233 | 92 |
| 4 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 226 | 230 | 92 |
| 5 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 40 | 34 | 8 | 213 | 233 | 88 |

### Conference standings

Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 53 | 18 | 11 | 257 | 204 | 117 |
| 2 | y – Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 51 | 21 | 10 | 295 | 244 | 112 |
| 3 | y – Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 246 | 220 | 100 |
| 4 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 46 | 24 | 12 | 264 | 216 | 104 |
| 5 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 46 | 30 | 6 | 254 | 248 | 98 |
| 6 | St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 233 | 233 | 92 |
| 7 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 226 | 230 | 92 |
| 8 | Anaheim Ducks | PA | 82 | 42 | 33 | 7 | 245 | 238 | 91 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 40 | 33 | 9 | 219 | 200 | 89 |
| 10 | Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 40 | 34 | 8 | 213 | 233 | 88 |
| 11 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 38 | 35 | 9 | 234 | 248 | 85 |
| 12 | Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 36 | 35 | 11 | 230 | 257 | 83 |
| 13 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 36 | 39 | 7 | 208 | 252 | 79 |
| 14 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 207 | 234 | 79 |
| 15 | Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 32 | 45 | 5 | 199 | 257 | 69 |
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, p – Presidents' Trophy winner CE – Central Division, NW – Northwest Division, PA – Pacific Division

## Schedule and results

2008–09 Game Log :
Preseason: 6–1–2 (Home: 3–1–1; Road: 3–0–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecord
1September 24Montreal3 – 2DetroitSOHoward15,3190–0–1
2September 25Detroit4 – 3BostonLarsson1–0–1
3September 26Boston2 – 1DetroitConklin15,2661–1–1
4September 28Atlanta0 – 4DetroitOsgood17,7142–1–1
5September 30Detroit1 – 2MontrealSOHoward21,2732–1–2
6October 1Detroit4 – 1AtlantaOsgood10,8173–1–2
7October 3Toronto3 – 5DetroitConklin17,9134–1–2
8October 4Detroit4 – 3TorontoOsgood18,8785–1–2
9October 5Buffalo0 – 3DetroitConklin15,9836–1–2 :
October: 7–2–2 (Home: 2–1–1; Road: 5–1–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
1October 9Toronto3 – 2DetroitOsgood20,0660–1–00
2October 11Detroit3 – 2OttawaOsgood20,1821–1–02
3October 13Detroit3 – 1CarolinaConklin18,6802–1–04
4October 16Vancouver4 – 3DetroitOTOsgood19,0112–1–15
5October 18NY Rangers4 – 5DetroitOTOsgood20,0663–1–17
6October 22Detroit4 – 3St. LouisConklin19,1504–1–19
7October 24Atlanta3 - 5DetroitOsgood20,0665–1–111
8October 25Detroit6 – 5ChicagoSOConklin22,6906–1–113
9October 27Detroit4 – 3Los AngelesSOOsgood17,6717–1–115
10October 29Detroit4 – 5AnaheimOTOsgood17,1747–1–216
11October 30Detroit2 – 4San JoseConklin17,4967–2–216 :
November: 8–2–2 (Home: 3–1–1; Road: 5–1–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
12November 2Detroit3 – 2VancouverOsgood18,6308–2–218
13November 8New Jersey1 – 3DetroitOsgood20,0669–2–220
14November 11Pittsburgh7 – 6DetroitOTOsgood20,0669–2–321
15November 13Detroit4 – 3Tampa BayOsgood20,54410–2–323
16November 14Detroit3 – 2FloridaConklin18,63711–2–325
17November 17Edmonton0 – 4DetroitConklin18,93412–2–327
18November 20Detroit4 – 3EdmontonOsgood16,83913–2–329
19November 22Detroit5 – 2CalgaryConklin19,28914–2–331
20November 24Detroit2 – 3VancouverOTOsgood18,63014–2–432
21November 26Montreal3 – 1DetroitConklin20,06614–3–432
22November 28Columbus3 – 5DetroitOsgood20,06615–3–434
23November 29Detroit1 – 3BostonConklin17,56515–4–434 :
December: 9–3–1 (Home: 8–1–0; Road: 1–2–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
24December 1Anaheim1 – 2DetroitOsgood18,86216–4–436
25December 4Vancouver5 – 6DetroitOsgood19,11617–4–438
26December 6Chicago4 – 5DetroitSOConklin20,06618–4–440
27December 10Calgary3 - 4DetroitOTConklin19,33519–4–442
28December 12Detroit1 – 3DallasConklin18,53219–5–442
29December 13Detroit5 – 4PhoenixSOOsgood16,33920–5–444
30December 15Colorado3 – 2DetroitOsgood19,15420–6–444
31December 18San Jose0 – 6DetroitConklin19,50721–6–446
32December 20Los Angeles4 – 6DetroitConklin19,78422–6–448
33December 23St. Louis1 – 4DetroitConklin20,06623–6–450
34December 26Detroit2 – 3NashvilleConklin17,11323–7–450
35December 27Detroit3 – 4ColoradoSOConklin18,00723–7–551
36December 30Chicago0 – 4DetroitConklin20,06624–7–553 :
January: 7–4–2 (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 4–3–2)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
37January 1Detroit6 – 4ChicagoConklin40,81825–7–555
38January 3Detroit3 – 2MinnesotaSOOsgood18,56826–7–557
39January 6Columbus0 – 3DetroitConklin19,71727–7–559
40January 8Dallas1 – 6DetroitOsgood20,06628–7–561
41January 10Buffalo1 – 3DetroitConklin20,06629–7–563
42January 12Detroit4 – 5DallasOTOsgood17,64829–7–664
43January 14Detroit4 – 3AnaheimOsgood17,52530–7–666
44January 15Detroit4 – 0Los AngelesConklin18,11831–7–668
45January 17Detroit5 – 6San JoseOsgood17,49631–8–668
46January 20Detroit3 – 6PhoenixConklin16,36831–9–668
47January 27Detroit2 – 3ColumbusOTOsgood16,34831–9–769
48January 29Dallas2 – 4DetroitOsgood20,06631–10–769
49January 31Detroit2 – 4WashingtonConklin18,27731–11–769
|^1 2009 NHL Winter Classic, played at Wrigley Field. :
February: 10–3–1 (Home: 8–0–1; Road: 2–3–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
50February 2St. Louis3 – 4DetroitSOOsgood19,38432–11–771
51February 4Phoenix4 – 5DetroitOsgood19,82133–11–773
52February 7Edmonton3 – 8DetroitConklin20,06634–11–775
53February 8Detroit3 – 0PittsburghConklin17,13235–11–777
54February 10Detroit5 – 3NashvilleConklin15,07736–11–779
55February 12Minnesota2 – 4DetroitOsgood20,06637–11–781
56February 13Detroit2 – 3ColumbusOsgood18,80237–12–781
57February 15Colorado6 – 5DetroitSOOsgood20,06637–12–882
58February 18Nashville2 – 6DetroitConklin20,06638–12–884
59February 20Anaheim2 – 5DetroitConklin20,06639–12–886
60February 21Detroit2 – 5MinnesotaHoward18,56839–13–886
61February 25San Jose1 – 4DetroitConklin20,06640–13–888
62February 27Los Angeles1 – 2DetroitOsgood20,06641–13–890
63February 28Detroit0 – 8NashvilleConklin17,11341–14–890 :
March: 8–4–1 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 6–1–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
64March 3Detroit5 – 0St. LouisOsgood19,25042–14–892
65March 4Detroit3 – 2ColoradoConklin18,00743–14–894
66March 7Columbus8 – 2DetroitOsgood20,06643–15–894
67March 10Phoenix2 – 3DetroitOTConklin20,06644–15–896
68March 12Calgary6 – 5DetroitSOConklin20,06644–15–997
69March 14Detroit5 – 2St. LouisOsgood19,25045–15–999
70March 15Detroit4 – 0ColumbusOsgood18,68546–15–9101
71March 17Philadelphia2 – 3DetroitOsgood20,06647–15–9103
72March 20Detroit6 – 3AtlantaOsgood18,54548–15–9105
73March 23Detroit3 – 5CalgaryOsgood19,28948–16–9105
74March 24Detroit3 – 2EdmontonConklin16,83949–16–9107
75March 27NY Islanders2 – 0DetroitOsgood20,06649–17–9107
76March 29Nashville4 – 3DetroitOsgood20,06649–18–9107 :
April: 2–3–1 (Home: 1–2–1; Road: 1–1–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
77April 2St. Louis5 – 4DetroitConklin19,93549–19–9107
78April 5Minnesota2 – 3DetroitOsgood20,06650–19–9109
79April 6Detroit4 – 1BuffaloOsgood18,69051–19–9111
80April 9Nashville4 – 3DetroitSOOsgood20,06651–19–10112
81April 11Chicago4 – 2DetroitConklin20,06651–20–10112
82April 12Detroit0 – 3ChicagoOsgood22,37651–21–10112 :
Legend:   Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Playoffs

Detroit had not missed the post-season since 1989–90. The 2008–09 season was their 18th consecutive playoff season.
2009 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference quarter-final vs. (7) Columbus Blue Jackets: Detroit won series 4–0
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1April 16Columbus1 – 4DetroitOsgood20,0661–0
2April 18Columbus0 – 4DetroitOsgood20,0662–0
3April 21Detroit4 – 1ColumbusOsgood19,2193–0
4April 23Detroit6 – 5ColumbusOsgood18,8894–0 :
Western Conference semi-final vs. (8) Anaheim Ducks: Detroit won series 4–3
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1May 1Anaheim2 – 3DetroitOsgood20,0661–0
2May 3Anaheim4 – 3Detroit3OTOsgood20,0661–1
3May 5Detroit1 – 2AnaheimOsgood17,1741–2
4May 7Detroit6 – 3AnaheimOsgood17,6012–2
5May 10Anaheim1 – 4DetroitOsgood20,0663–2
6May 12Detroit1 – 2AnaheimOsgood17,1743–3
7May 14Anaheim3 – 4DetroitOsgood20,0664–3 :
Western Conference finals vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks: Detroit won series 4–1
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1May 17Chicago2 – 5DetroitOsgood20,0661–0
2May 19Chicago2 – 3DetroitOTOsgood20,0662–0
3May 22Detroit3 – 4ChicagoOTOsgood22,6782–1
4May 24Detroit6 – 1ChicagoConklin22,6633–1
5May 27Chicago1 - 2DetroitOTOsgood20,0664-1 :
Stanley Cup Finals vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins: Detroit lost series 3–4
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1May 30Pittsburgh1 – 3DetroitOsgood20,0661–0
2May 31Pittsburgh1 – 3DetroitOsgood20,0662–0
3June 2Detroit2 – 4PittsburghOsgood17,1322–1
4June 4Detroit2 – 4PittsburghOsgood17,1322–2
5June 6Pittsburgh0 – 5DetroitOsgood20,0663–2
6June 9Detroit1 – 2PittsburghOsgood17,1323–3
7June 12Pittsburgh2 - 1DetroitOsgood20,0663–4 :
Legend:   Win   Loss :
During the Finals, Head Coach Mike Babcock joined Mike Keenan as the only coaches in NHL history to coach in Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals on two different teams, having been with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2003. When the Red Wings lost Game 7, Babcock had the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first coach in NHL history to lose a Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals on two different teams, as his Ducks lost to the New Jersey Devils in 2003.

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Pavel Datsyuk | 81 | 32 | 65 | 97 | +34 | 22 |
| Henrik Zetterberg | 77 | 31 | 42 | 73 | +13 | 36 |
| Marian Hossa | 74 | 40 | 31 | 71 | +27 | 63 |
| Nicklas Lidstrom | 78 | 16 | 43 | 59 | +31 | 30 |
| Brian Rafalski | 78 | 10 | 49 | 59 | +17 | 20 |
| Johan Franzen | 71 | 34 | 25 | 59 | +21 | 44 |
| Jiri Hudler | 82 | 23 | 34 | 57 | +7 | 16 |
| Niklas Kronwall | 80 | 6 | 45 | 51 | +2 | 50 |
| Daniel Cleary | 74 | 14 | 26 | 40 | 0 | 46 |
| Mikael Samuelsson | 81 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 0 | 50 |
| Valtteri Filppula | 80 | 12 | 28 | 40 | +9 | 42 |
| Tomas Holmstrom | 53 | 14 | 23 | 37 | +18 | 38 |
| Tomas Kopecky | 79 | 6 | 13 | 19 | -7 | 46 |
| Kris Draper | 79 | 7 | 10 | 17 | -13 | 40 |
| Brett Lebda | 65 | 6 | 10 | 16 | +9 | 48 |
| Brad Stuart | 67 | 2 | 13 | 15 | -3 | 26 |
| Andreas Lilja | 60 | 2 | 11 | 13 | +13 | 66 |
| Kirk Maltby | 78 | 5 | 6 | 11 | -9 | 28 |
| Ville Leino | 13 | 5 | 4 | 9 | +5 | 6 |
| Derek Meech | 41 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -12 | 12 |
| Jonathan Ericsson | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 15 |
| Aaron Downey | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| Darren McCarty | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 25 |
| Darren Helm | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -7 | 4 |
| Chris Chelios | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 18 |
| Justin Abdelkader | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Henrik Zetterberg | 23 | 11 | 13 | 24 | +13 | 13 |
| Johan Franzen | 23 | 12 | 11 | 23 | +8 | 12 |
| Nicklas Lidstrom | 21 | 4 | 12 | 16 | +11 | 6 |
| Valtteri Filppula | 23 | 3 | 13 | 16 | +8 | 8 |
| Daniel Cleary | 23 | 9 | 6 | 15 | +17 | 12 |
| Marian Hossa | 23 | 6 | 9 | 15 | +5 | 10 |
| Brian Rafalski | 18 | 3 | 9 | 12 | +11 | 11 |
| Jiri Hudler | 23 | 4 | 8 | 12 | +4 | 6 |
| Mikael Samuelsson | 23 | 5 | 5 | 10 | +7 | 6 |
| Brad Stuart | 23 | 3 | 6 | 9 | +5 | 12 |
| Pavel Datsyuk | 16 | 1 | 8 | 9 | +5 | 9 |
| Niklas Kronwall | 23 | 2 | 7 | 9 | +4 | 33 |
| Jonathan Ericsson | 22 | 4 | 4 | 8 | +9 | 25 |
| Tomas Holmstrom | 23 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 22 |
| Brett Lebda | 23 | 0 | 6 | 6 | +8 | 22 |
| Darren Helm | 23 | 4 | 1 | 5 | +1 | 4 |
| Justin Abdelkader | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | +2 | 0 |
| Ville Leino | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +2 | 0 |
| Kris Draper | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kirk Maltby | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
| Tomas Kopecky | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Chris Chelios | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Derek Meech | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; GAA= Goals against average; SA= Shots against; SV= Saves; Sv% = Save percentage; SO= Shutouts
Regular season :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV | Sv% | SO |
| Chris Osgood | 46 | 2662 | 26 | 9 | 8 | 137 | 3.09 | 1208 | 1071 | .887 | 2 |
| Ty Conklin | 40 | 2246 | 25 | 11 | 2 | 94 | 2.51 | 1033 | 939 | .909 | 6 |
| Jimmy Howard | 1 | 58 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4.10 | 28 | 24 | .857 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV | Sv% | SO |
| Chris Osgood | 23 | 1,405 | 15 | 8 | 47 | 2.01 | 637 | 590 | .926 | 2 |
| Ty Conklin | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 9 | 9 | 1.000 | 0 |

## Awards and records
### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Team member | Milestone | Reached |
| Andreas Lilja | 400th NHL game | October 11, 2008 |
| Brett Lebda | 200th NHL game | October 11, 2008 |
| Marian Hossa | 300th NHL goal | October 18, 2008 |
| Ken Holland | 500th win as general manager | October 27, 2008 |
| Niklas Kronwall | 200th NHL game | November 26, 2008 |
| Brad Stuart | 600th NHL game | November 28, 2008 |
| Pavel Datsyuk | 300th NHL assist | November 28, 2008 |
| Johan Franzen | 100th NHL point | December 1, 2008 |
| Derek Meech | 1st NHL goal | December 4, 2008 |
| Jiri Hudler | 200th NHL game | December 10, 2008 |
| Mike Babcock | 250th win as coach | December 10, 2008 |
| Jiri Hudler | 100th NHL point | January 1, 2009 |
| Chris Chelios | NHL record for most regular season career wins (880) | January 7, 2009 |
| Valtteri Filppula | 200th NHL game | January 17, 2009 |
| Brian Rafalski | 400th NHL point | January 17, 2009 |
| Henrik Zetterberg | 400th NHL game | January 27, 2009 |
| Ville Leino | 1st NHL goal | January 31, 2009 |
| Kris Draper | 1000th NHL game | February 2, 2009 |
| Pavel Datsyuk | 500th NHL game | February 13, 2009 |
| Mike Babcock | 200th win as coach of the Red Wings | February 18, 2009 |
| Pavel Datsyuk | 500th NHL point | February 25, 2009 |
| Kirk Maltby | 1000th NHL game | February 27, 2009 |
| Chris Osgood | 300th win with the Red Wings | March 14, 2009 |

## Transactions
### Free agents

Acquired by Detroit :
| Player | Former team | Contract Terms |
| Ty Conklin | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1 year; $750,000 |
| Marian Hossa | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1 year; $7.4 million |
| Darren Haydar | Atlanta Thrashers | 1 year |
Leaving Detroit :
| Player | New team |
| Garrett Stafford | Dallas Stars |
| Mark Cullen | Vancouver Canucks |
| Carl Corazzini | Edmonton Oilers |

## Draft picks

Detroit's selections at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario.
| Round | Overall Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 30 | Tom McCollum | Goaltender | United States | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 3 | 91 | Max Nicastro | Defenseman | United States | Chicago Steel (USHL) |
| 4 | 121 | Gustav Nyquist | Center | Sweden | Malmö Redhawks (Sweden Jr.) |
| 5 | 151 | Julien Cayer | Center | Canada | Northwood School (USHS-NY) |
| 6 | 181 | Stephen Johnston | Left Wing | Canada | Belleville Bulls (OHL) |
| 7 | 211 | Jesper Samuelsson | Center | Sweden | HC Vita Hästen (Swe-3) |

## Farm teams

The Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL) remain the minor league affiliate of the Red Wings for the 2008–09 season.