Detroit never drafts high and they always make the playoffs. And still, they beat the Penguins.

That, and the ability to augment the group with solid pros along the way, is the recipe for a championship team.

After the 3-2 victory in Game 6, Lidstrom took the Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, the first European captain ever to do so. He held it high, then passed it along to third-line veteran Dallas Drake.

“I started thinking about it in the first round, if we should go all the way, who should get the Cup first. I didn’t tell anyone though,” Lidstrom said. “Dallas has been in the league 16 years, a good long career, and has never been in the final before. All the effort and hours — everything he’s put into the game and not had a chance to hoist the Cup yet.

“I’m very proud of being the first European, and I’m very proud to be the captain of the Red Wings.”

But perhaps the best story for Detroit was goaltender Chris Osgood, who opened these playoffs on the bench behind Dominik Hasek. When Hasek failed in Round 1, Osgood pulled the ol’ Wally Pipp, taking the reins and never letting go.

“When you pull your goalie in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, that usually means you’re going fishing in the next few days,” said Babcock. “I think Ozzy’s a great story. He sat in my office in my house three years ago and talked about reinventing himself. He did, he learned the butterfly.”

Osgood stuck with it, and so have these Wings.

Now, and perhaps for the next few seasons, both are going to be awfully hard to beat.

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