Watch the final seconds and celebrations of each Stanley Cup Final winning team from 2009 to 2019.
(Video courtesy of @NHL YouTube)
Winning the Stanley Cup is the ultimate achievement in professional hockey, and requires a complete team effort to do so. The mental and physical stamina needed to prevail through the NHL playoffs in unlike that of any other sport.
So when the final buzzer sounds and an NHL champion is officially crowned, pandemonium ensues.
The 2010s saw several franchises win multiple Cups, while others lifted hockey's biggest prize for the first time in their decades-long history.
List of Stanley Cup Champions: 2009-2019
2009: Pittsburgh Penguins def. Detroit Red Wings, 4-3
2010: Chicago Blackhawks def. Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2
2011: Boston Bruins def. Vancouver Canucks, 4-3
2012: Los Angeles Kings def. New Jersey Devils, 4-2
2013: Chicago Blackhawks def. Boston Bruins, 4-2
2014: Los Angeles Kings def. New York Rangers, 4-1
2015: Chicago Blackhawks def. Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2
2016: Pittsburgh Penguins def. San Jose Sharks, 4-2
2017: Pittsburgh Penguins def. Nashville Predators, 4-2
2018: Washington Capitals def. Vegas Golden Knights, 4-1
2019: St. Louis Blues def. Boston Bruins, 4-3
Click here to watch the best overtime winning goals in the history of the NHL playoffs.
Notable Stanley Cup Winners from the 2010s
Penguins break through in 2009
The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the 2009 Stanley Cup Final seeking revenge on the Detroit Red Wings. The previous year, the Pens lost to the Red Wings in the Cup Final in six games.
2009 marked the first time in 25 years the same two teams played eachother in consecutive Finals.
Sidney Crosby and co. fell behind 2-0 to open the series, then won both home games to even the series, then faced elimination after dropping Game 5 in Detroit.
In Game 7, Maxime Talbot scored twice and Marc-Andre Fleury made a last-second save to clinch the Penguins’ third Cup in franchise history.
The ’09 title marked Pittsburgh’s second as a city in four months (the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII in February), and the Pens’ first of three in the 2010s.
Kane launches Blackhawks dynasty in unique fashion
Patrick Kane’s overtime winner in the 2010 Final broke the Blackhawks’ 49-year title drought while producing one of the most obscure Cup-winning celebrations we’ve ever seen.
Tied 3-3 with the Flyers four minutes into overtime of Game 6, Kane fired from a narrow angle and snuck one past Philadelphia goalie Michael Leighton, but the puck disappeared rather than bouncing out of the net.
The ‘missing puck’ meant the goal horn did not go off and the referees did not signal a goal was scored.
Kane, however, knew right away, and his teammates did soon after, too. The 21-year-old skated the length of the ice, throwing his stick and gloves in the air in celebration, before being mobbed by his team’s net.
The home crowd in Philly was stunned silent, as many fans were confused by Chicago’s celebrations despite the goal light and horns never going off. A short review later, it was confirmed to be the Cup-winning goal.
The Blackhawks went on to win two more Cups in 2013 and 2015, stamping their dominance on the decade.
Ovechkin finally gets his first
Alexander Ovechkin sprinted onto the ice as the clock ticked to zero in the 2018 Final, as the Capitals won their first Cup in franchise history.
The Washington captain portrayed a mixture of disbelief and unadulterated joy. The prize he had been chasing for 13-plus years was now his.
Arguably the most lethal goalscorer in NHL history and one of the defining players of the 21st century, ‘Ovi’ waited longer than he and his diehard fans ever would have expected for his first Cup.
Given the Capitals’ past years of underwhelming playoff exits, the once-evasive Cup for Washington was theirs after defeating the Golden Knights four games to one.
Ovechkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the best player of the playoffs before embarking on a legendary summer celebration tour, alongside his new friend Lord Stanley.
