To say that Detroit has seen better days would be an understatement. After a 7-game championship series that many are already calling an epic classic, the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Friday to win game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals at the Joe Louis Arena.

Jonathan Ericsson scored the lone goal for Detroit, while Maxime Talbot scored two second period goals for the Penguins, while Marc-Andre Fleury had 23 saves including a potential tiemaker with one nailbiting second left in the game, as he sprawled across the crease and blocked a shot by the Wings' Niklas Lidstrom.

21 year old Team Captain Sidney Crosby, who played just one shift after leaving the ice during the second period after suffering a knee injury, is now the youngest captain ever to hoist the Stanley Cup after the win. It's stewed up some ugly thoughts among Detroit fans, who were betting heavily on a series win in Detroit's dilapidated Joe Louis Arena. Many went into the game with an air of overstated confidence, convinced that the boys wouldn't lose on home turf. But they did, despite many outspoken claims that Crosby is far too young to have his name on the Cup. But it's there now, and it's been earned, sour grapes or not.

Pittsburgh is now poised to become a true N.H.L. powerhouse, provided that Penguins GM Ray Shero can manage the salary cap. The team is riddled with under-25 talents led by the stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who was named the most valuable player of the series, role players like Jordan Staal, Tyler Kennedy and Maxime Talbot, who scored both of Pittsburgh’s goals in Game 7; the blue-line go-to man Kris Letang and the redeemed goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. 

It's not all doom and gloom for Detroit, however, because not all hope is lost. The Red Wings still have a solid stable of young talent to tackle next season with, including Darren Helm, Jonathan Ericsson, Valtteri Filppula and Justin Abdelkader. They'll be joining established vets Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen and Niklas Kronwall, all of whom are still very much in their prime as athletes.