page_title: Detroit Red Wings
section_title: Nicklas Lidstrom and the "Euro-Twins" era (2006–2012)
hierarchical_section_title: Detroit Red Wings / Franchise history / Nicklas Lidstrom and the "Euro-Twins" era (2006–2012)
caption_attribution_description: English: Nicklas Lidstrom warms up before a January 31, 2010 game between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, PA.
context_page_description: The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. They compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference, and are one of the Original Six teams of the league. Founded in 1926, the team was known as the Detroit Cougars until 1930. For the 1930–31 and 1931–32 seasons the team was called the Detroit Falcons, and in 1932 changed their name to the Red Wings.
  As of 2020, the Red Wings have won the most Stanley Cup championships of any NHL franchise based in the United States and are third overall in total Stanley Cup championships, behind the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Wings played their home games at Joe Louis Arena from 1979 until 2017, after playing for 52 years in Olympia Stadium. They moved into the new Little Caesars Arena beginning with the 2017–18 season. The Red Wings are one of the most popular and successful franchises in the NHL; fans and sports commentators refer to the Detroit area as "Hockeytown", which has been a registered trademark owned by the franchise since 1996.
  Between the 1931–32 and 1965–66 seasons, the Red Wings missed the playoffs only four times.
context_section_description: The Red Wings opened the 2006–07 season with Nicklas Lidstrom as the new captain. The team retired Yzerman's jersey number 19 on January 2, 2007. The Red Wings finished first in the Western Conference and tied for first in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, but the Sabres were awarded the Presidents' Trophy because they had more wins. Detroit advanced to the third round of the 2007 playoffs after defeating Calgary and the San Jose Sharks both in six games, coming back to win three-straight after the Sharks had a 2–1 series lead. The Red Wings would then lose to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference finals in six games.
  To start the 2007–08 campaign, Zetterberg recorded at least a point in each of Detroit's first 17 games, setting a club record. The Wings cruised to the playoffs, where they faced the Nashville Predators. After goaltender Dominik Hasek played poorly in Games 3 and 4 of the series, both losses, head coach Mike Babcock replaced him with Chris Osgood. Osgood never left the net for the remainder of the playoffs, as the Red Wings came back in that series on their way to winning their 11th Stanley Cup. The final victory came in Game 6 on June 4, 2008, against the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3–2. This was the Red Wings' fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years. Zetterberg scored the winning goal in the decisive game, and was also named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. It was the first time a team captained by a non-North American player (Lidstrom) won the Stanley Cup.
  On July 2, 2008, the Red Wings announced the signing of Marian Hossa. On January 1, 2009, the Red Wings played the Chicago Blackhawks in the second NHL Winter Classic at Chicago's Wrigley Field, defeating them 6–4. Although they finished second in the conference to the San Jose Sharks, the Wings became the first team in NHL history to top 100 points in nine straight seasons. In the playoffs, the Red Wings swept the Columbus Blue Jackets, then defeated the eighth-seeded Anaheim Ducks in a hard-fought seven game series. They took on the vastly improved Chicago Blackhawks in the conference finals, winning in five games. The Red Wings would face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Finals for a second consecutive year, but this series would feature a different outcome as the Penguins defeated the Red Wings in seven games. The Red Wings became only the second NHL team to lose the Stanley Cup at home in Game 7.
  The Red Wings began the 2009–10 NHL season in Stockholm, losing both games to the St. Louis Blues 4–3 and 5–3, respectively. They were plagued by injuries throughout the season and lost the second most man games to injury, with only the last place Edmonton Oilers losing more. The beginning of the season was a struggle for the Red Wings, with key players out of the lineup, including Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula and Niklas Kronwall. After the Olympic break, Detroit posted a record of 13–3–2 and earned 28 points, the most by any team in the NHL. This run helped them secure the fifth playoff seed in the Western Conference. Detroit won their first-round playoff series over the Phoenix Coyotes in seven games. In the second round, they would be defeated by the San Jose Sharks in five games.
  A healthier Red Wings team finished the 2010–11 NHL season with a 47–25–10 record and 104 points to win the Central Division title. They once again faced the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round of the playoffs, this time sweeping them 4–0. The Red Wings then went go to face the Sharks in round two. After losing the first three games of the series, the Red Wings won three consecutive games to force a Game 7, becoming just the eighth team in NHL history to accomplish the feat. The Red Wings lost Game 7 to the Sharks by a score of 3–2 and were eliminated.
  During the 2011 off-season, Red Wings defenseman Brian Rafalski retired. Detroit soon signed free agent defenseman Ian White to take his place. Long-time Red Wings Chris Osgood and Kris Draper also announced their retirement from 
caption: Nicklas Lidstrom during the 2009–10 season. Named captain in 2006, he maintained the position until his retirement in 2012.
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