Enlarge By Jim McIsaac, Getty Images Mark Eaton of the Pittsburgh Penguins lifts the Stanley Cup after his team defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.  THREE STARS * Maxime Talbot, Pittsburgh Every Game 7 has a Superman and Talbot wore the cape Friday, scoring the Penguins' only two goals. ** Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Fleury made 23 saves, including a number of big ones in the closing moments. *** Brooks Orpik, Pittsburgh The defenseman had nine hits and five blocked shots to lead the Penguins' blueliners. -- Kevin Allen, USA TODAY  DETROIT VS. PITTSBURGH Game 1 -- May 30: Detroit 3, Pittsburgh 1 Game 2 -- May 31, Detroit 3, Pittsburgh 1 Game 3 -- June 2, Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 2 Game 4 -- June 4, Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 2 Game 5 -- June 6, Detroit 5, Pittsburgh 0 Game 6 -- June 9, Pittsburgh 2, Detroit 1 Game 7 -- June 12, Pittsburgh 2, Detroit 1 Penguins win Stanley Cup, 4-3 -- Playoff essentials: Red Wings stats | Penguins stats | Matchups NHL playoffs gallery

Friday night they made the Red Wings appreciate their misery.

The Penguins officially ushered in the Sidney Crosby- Evgeni Malkin championship era by defeating the Red Wings 2-1 in a dramatic Game 7 to win their first Stanley Cup since 1992.

"We have a great core for the next couple of years and I see great things for this team going forward," said Penguins winger Maxime Talbot, who scored Pittsburgh's goals.

The Penguins are the first road team in any sport to win a championship in Game 7 since the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series against the Baltimore Orioles in 1979, and they are the first NHL team to win a Finals Game 7 on the road since the 1970-71 Montreal Canadiens.

"When you're playing Game 7 for the Stanley Cup, and you're playing at home, it makes it tough to lose," said Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom, who was denied his fifth NHL championship.

The Penguins won the game with Crosby playing only 9:59 because of a hip injury suffered in the second period when he was checked by Johan Franzen. He tried to play in the third period, but the pain was too much.

It didn't diminish Crosby's enjoyment of the Cup celebration. He has faced relentless pressure to succeed since he was the league's No. 1 draft pick in 2005. Now he has a Stanley Cup after just his fourth NHL season.

"It's not easy to be in the spotlight like he was at a young age," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "There is a lot of focus. There's lots of scrutiny. There's lots of demands. … this erases a lot of questions."

Crosby called it "a dream come true. It's everything you imagined and more."

Malkin won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason MVP, primarily on the strength of his eight points in the series and his NHL-leading 36 points (22 assists) in the postseason

"Everything it took to win — we did it," Crosby said. "Blocking shots. Good goaltending, different guys stepping up…"

This Penguins team struggled for much of the regular season and was lifted down the stretch by a coaching change from Michel Therrien to Bylsma on Feb. 15. His record was 18-3-4 in the final two months and the Penguins moved from out of the Eastern Conference playoffs into fourth place when the season ended.

"When I was traded to Pittsburgh, the Pens were in 10th and I was in 30th (with the Islanders)," said Crosby's linemate, Bill Guerin who came to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline. "But we bonded quickly."

Players bought in to Bylsma's system. "I'm a little surprised how quick they got it, but I'm not surprised how good they became," said Bylsma, who played for the Anaheim Ducks in Game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals.

After a scoreless first period, Talbot scored twice in the second to become the ninth NHL player to score two goals in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. He scored at 1:13 after intercepting a pass from Brad Stuart and then scored at 10:07 on a 2-on-1 break that began with Stuart pinching against Chris Kunitz who had the puck near the boards.

They held that lead until Detroit rookie defenseman Jonathan Ericsson scored with 6:07 remaining in the third period. In the final minutes, the Red Wings pressed and pulled goalie Chris Osgood. The Penguins didn't have it wrapped up until Lidstrom's shot at the buzzer hit a diving Marc-Andre Fleury, the Pittsburgh goalie who made 23 saves in erasing memories of a 5-0 loss in Game 5 a week ago.

"They played real well without the puck," Lidstrom said.

One of the interesting side stories of the Finals involved Hossa's decision last summer to leave the Penguins to join the Red Wings. He joined the Red Wings because he believed they had a better chance to win the Stanley Cup.

"Regret?," he said. "I don't regret it. It could be different circumstances if I sign in Pittsburgh and now they probably couldn't sign some other players and they would be different team. So we could sit here for hours discussing this but it could be a different team, could be different things so I don't regret the decision."

Said Stuart: "Obviously (we) feel pretty bad for him (Hossa). He was probably feeling the pressure a little bit. It's one of the storylines of the series, I guess, the fact we ended up playing them again. Obviously (we) feel bad for the guy. He's part of our team and feels the same way all of us do."