2002 Stanley Cup Finals
1 2 3 4 5 Total Detroit Red Wings 2* 3 3*** 3 3 4 Carolina Hurricanes 3* 1 2*** 0 1 1
* indicates periods of overtime
Location(s)	Detroit: Joe Louis Arena (1, 2, 5) Raleigh: Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena (3, 4)
Coaches	Detroit: Scotty Bowman Carolina: Paul Maurice
Captains	Detroit: Steve Yzerman Carolina: Ron Francis
National anthems	Detroit: Karen Newman Carolina: Unknown
Referees	Bill McCreary (1, 3, 5) Stephen Walkom (1, 3, 5) Don Koharski (2, 4) Paul Devorski (2, 4)
Dates	June 4–13, 2002
MVP	Nicklas Lidstrom (Red Wings)
Series-winning goal	Brendan Shanahan (14:04, second, G5)
Hall of Famers	Red Wings: Chris Chelios (2013) Pavel Datsyuk (2024) Sergei Fedorov (2015) Dominik Hasek (2014) Brett Hull (2009) Igor Larionov (2008) Nicklas Lidstrom (2015) Luc Robitaille (2009) Brendan Shanahan (2013) Steve Yzerman (2009) Hurricanes: Ron Francis (2007) Coaches: Scotty Bowman (1991)
Networks	Canada: (English): CBC (French): SRC United States: (English): ESPN (1–2), ABC (3–5)
Announcers	(CBC) Bob Cole and Harry Neale (SRC) Claude Quenneville and Michel Bergeron (ESPN/ABC) Gary Thorne and Bill Clement (NHL International) Dave Strader and Joe Micheletti
← 2001 Stanley Cup Finals 2003 →

The 2002 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2001–02 season, and the culmination of the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings and the Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes. It was Detroit's twenty-second appearance in the Finals, their previous appearance being a win in 1998. It was Carolina's first appearance in the Finals in franchise history. Detroit defeated Carolina in five games to win their tenth Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

The Red Wings became the first team in NHL history to win the Cup after starting the playoffs with two losses at home. After losing the first two games in the Conference Quarterfinals to the Vancouver Canucks, the Red Wings won 16 of their next 21 games en route to win their third Cup since 1997 for coach Scotty Bowman. Bowman won his ninth Cup as a head coach (he had previously won it in that capacity with the Montreal Canadiens in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979, with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992, and with Detroit in 1997 and 1998), surpassing the mark he held jointly with Montreal coach Toe Blake. It was the last Detroit championship to feature members of the Russian Five, as Sergei Fedorov and Igor Larionov were still with the team.

Paths to the Finals

Carolina defeated the New Jersey Devils, the Canadiens, and the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games apiece to advance to the Finals.

Detroit defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4–2, the St. Louis Blues 4–1 and the defending Cup champion Colorado Avalanche 4–3 to advance to the Finals.

Game summaries

This was the first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals for the Hurricanes (formerly the Hartford Whalers), who made an unlikely run to the Cup. While they were seeded third as a division winner, they actually had the second-lowest point total (91) for a playoff team not only in the Eastern Conference, but also the whole NHL (ahead of only Montreal). In their whole NHL history, they had only won one playoff series prior to this season (as the Whalers in 1986) and had streaks of five and six seasons in which they did not make the playoffs. As the Red Wings won the Presidents' Trophy with 116 points, the 25-point differential was the largest between two teams in a Stanley Cup Finals since 1994 when there were 27 points between the New York Rangers (112) and the Canucks (85).^[1]

The Hurricanes stunned the Red Wings in the first game on the strength of Ron Francis's overtime goal. That would be Carolina's only win in the series as the Red Wings won four straight, including a triple overtime win in game three. The Cup win was the first for many veterans on the team, including goaltender Dominik Hasek, forward Luc Robitaille, and defencemen Steve Duchesne (who retired after this season) and Fredrik Olausson. It was the second Cup win for Chris Chelios, sixteen years after he first won the Cup as a member of the Montreal Canadiens in 1986.

Game one

Game one summary

• First period:
  • Scoring:
    • 1. DETROIT FEDOROV (YZERMAN) 15:21 (PPG)
  • Penalties:
    • Hedican (Car) (high-sticking) 8:03, Robitaille (Det) (tripping) 10:28, Hill (Car) (tripping) 11:15, Wesley (Car) (interference) 15:03.
• Second period:
  • Scoring:
    • 2. CAROLINA HILL (KAPANEN, FRANCIS) 3:30 (PPG)
    • 3. DETROIT MALTBY (McCARTY) 10:39
    • 4. CAROLINA O'NEILL (WARD) 19:10
  • Penalties:
    • Carolina bench (too many men) 0:34, Larionov (Det) (high-sticking) 2:07, Draper (Det) (hooking) 2:44, Svoboda (Car) (high-sticking) 4:28, Wallin (Car) (roughing) 7:41, Dandenault (Det) (tripping) 12:12.
• Third period:
  • Scoring: No goals.
  • Penalties:
    • Devereaux (Det) (holding the stick) 5:49, Larionov (Det) (high-sticking) 12:17, Cole (Car) (hooking) 18:19.
• First overtime:
  • Scoring:
    • 5. CAROLINA FRANCIS (O'NEILL, KAPANEN) 0:58 (GWG)
  • Penalties:
    • None
• Goalie statistics:
  • Carolina: Arturs Irbe — 23 saves / 25 shots
  • Detroit: Dominik Hasek — 23 saves / 26 shots
• Shots by period:

Team	1	2	3	1OT	T
Carolina	7	13	5	1	26
Detroit	8	12	5	0	25

Game two

Game two summary

• First period:
  • Scoring:
    • 1. DETROIT MALTBY (DRAPER, CHELIOS) 6:33 (SHG)
    • 2. CAROLINA BRIND'AMOUR (unassisted) 14:47 (SHG)
  • Penalties:
    • Draper (Det) (boarding) 1:25, Duchesne (Det) (holding) 5:21, Hill (Car) (slashing) 6:33, Svoboda (Car) (roughing) 14:03, Hill (Car) (holding) 16:23.
• Second period:
  • Scoring: No goals.
  • Penalties:
    • Battaglia (Car) (holding) 1:05, Duchesne (Det) (tripping) 3:55, Detroit bench (too many men) 7:23, Gelinas (Car) (interference) 10:10, Ward (Car) (holding) 18:03.
• Third period:
  • Scoring:
    • 3. DETROIT LIDSTROM (FEDOROV, YZERMAN) 14:52 (PPG, GWG)
    • 4. DETROIT DRAPER (LIDSTROM, OLAUSSON) 15:05
  • Penalties:
    • Fischer (Det) (high-sticking) 9:38, Gelinas (Car) (slashing) 14:00, Fischer (Det) (slashing) 17:15, Battaglia (Car) (charging) 17:45, Brind'Amour (Car), Cole (Car), McCarty (Det), Maltby (Det), Chelios (Det) (roughing) 19:33, Hull (Det) (tripping) 19:41.
• Goalie statistics:
  • Carolina: Arturs Irbe — 27 saves / 30 shots
  • Detroit: Dominik Hasek — 16 saves / 17 shots
• Shots by period:

Team	1	2	3	T
Carolina	7	4	6	17
Detroit	9	8	13	30

Game three

Game three summary

• First period:
  • Scoring:
    • 1. CAROLINA VASICEK (GELINAS, WESLEY) 14:49
  • Penalties:
    • Brind'Amour (Car) (holding the stick) 1:45, Hedican (Car) (boarding) 3:32, O'Neill (Car) (boarding) 11:34, Lidstrom (Det) (tripping) 12:30, Devereaux (Det) (slashing) 19:15.
• Second period:
  • Scoring:
    • 2. DETROIT LARIONOV (HULL) 5:33
  • Penalties:
    • Maltby (Det), Ward (Car) (unsportsmanlike conduct) 5:13, Chelios (Det) (interference) 8:12, Fedorov (Det), Hill (Car) (holding) 19:44, Hill (Car) (tripping) 13:24.
• Third period:
  • Scoring:
    • 3. CAROLINA O'NEILL (FRANCIS) 7:34
    • 4. DETROIT HULL (LIDSTROM, FEDOROV) 18:46
  • Penalties:
    • Shanahan (Det), Vasicek (Car) (roughing) 5:25, Duchesne (Det) (holding) 9:58, Shanahan (Det), Hill (Car) (roughing) 19:01.
• First overtime:
  • Scoring: No goals.
  • Penalties:
    • Duchesne (Det), Svoboda (Car) (roughing) 18:23.
• Second overtime:
  • Scoring: No goals.
  • Penalties:
    • Cole (Car) (holding the stick) 8:35, Olausson (Det) (holding) 13:25.
• Third overtime:
  • Scoring:
    • 5. DETROIT LARIONOV (HOLMSTROM, DUCHESNE) 14:47 (GWG)
  • Penalties:
    • None.
• Goalie statistics:
  • Detroit: Dominik Hasek — 41 saves / 43 shots
  • Carolina: Arturs Irbe — 50 saves / 53 shots
• Shots by period:

Team	1	2	3	1OT	2OT	3OT	T
Detroit	6	7	16	11	6	7	53
Carolina	8	6	7	5	8	9	43

Game four

Game four summary

• First period:
  • Scoring: No goals.
  • Penalties:
    • Wesley (Car) (hooking) 2:05, Fedorov (Det) (high-sticking), Cole (Car) (goaltender interference) 16:54.
• Second period:
  • Scoring:
    • 1. DETROIT HULL (DEVEREAUX, OLAUSSON) 6:32 (GWG)
  • Penalties:
    • Robitaille (Det) (high-sticking) 9:06, Duchesne (Det) (holding the stick) 14:34.
• Third period:
  • Scoring:
    • 2. DETROIT LARIONOV (FISCHER, ROBITAILLE) 3:43
    • 3. DETROIT SHANAHAN (FEDOROV, CHELIOS) 14:43
  • Penalties:
    • Hill (Car) (boarding) 8:34.
• Goalie statistics:
  • Detroit: Dominik Hasek — 17 saves / 17 shots
  • Carolina: Arturs Irbe — 24 saves / 27 shots
• Shots by period:

Team	1	2	3	T
Detroit	10	6	11	27
Carolina	6	7	4	17

Game five

Game five summary

• First period:
  • Scoring: No goals.
  • Penalties:
    • Carolina bench (too many men) 12:09.
• Second period:
  • Scoring:
    • 1. DETROIT HOLMSTROM (LARIONOV, CHELIOS) 4:07
    • 2. DETROIT SHANAHAN (FEDOROV, YZERMAN) 14:04 (PPG, GWG)
    • 3. CAROLINA O'NEILL (HILL, WESLEY) 18:50 (PPG)
  • Penalties:
    • Slegr (Det) (holding) 6:00, Svoboda (Car) (roughing) 13:34, Cole (Car) (roughing) 16:15, Shanahan (Det) (hooking) 16:53.
• Third period:
  • Scoring:
    • 4. DETROIT SHANAHAN (YZERMAN) 19:15 (EN)
  • Penalties:
    • Fedorov (Det) (cross-checking) 5:23, Vasicek (Car) (interference) 8:12.
• Goalie statistics:
  • Carolina: Arturs Irbe — 24 saves / 26 shots
  • Detroit: Dominik Hasek — 16 saves / 17 shots
• Shots by period:

Team	1	2	3	T
Carolina	5	7	5	17
Detroit	12	8	7	27

Team rosters

Carolina Hurricanes

Goaltenders
#	Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of birth		Finals appearance
1	Arturs Irbe	L	1998–99		Riga, Soviet Union	first
80	Kevin Weekes	L	2001–02		Toronto, Ontario	first (did not play)

Defencemen
#	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of birth		Finals appearance
2	Glen Wesley – A	L	1994–95		Red Deer, Alberta	third (1988, 1990)
4	Aaron Ward	R	2001–02		Windsor, Ontario	third (1997, 1998)
5	Marek Malik	L	1993		Ostrava, Czechoslovakia	first
6	Bret Hedican	L	2001–02		Saint Paul, Minnesota	second (1994)
7	Niclas Wallin	L	2000		Boden, Sweden	first
22	Sean Hill	R	2001–02		Duluth, Minnesota	second (1993)
45	David Tanabe	R	1999		White Bear Lake, Minnesota	first (did not play)