2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game two
Detroit took over in the second period, dominating in shots and benefiting from some luck, such as when Bill Guerin's wrist shot hit the inside of the post but stayed out of the net. Jonathan Ericsson tied the game at 4:21 of the second period, moments after the Penguins were forced to ice the puck after a long shift. Pittsburgh promptly lost the ensuing faceoff in their zone, allowing Ericsson to score from the point. Then at 10:29, the Red Wings went ahead after Valtteri Filppula was able to backhand a shot from a difficult angle into the net. Filppula scored after Fleury had stopped both Tomas Holmstrom and Marian Hossa, but could not hold the rebounds.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game two
At 1:39 of the third period, Sidney Crosby peeled out of the corner and fired a shot that bounced off the post and rolled along the Detroit goal line. The play was reviewed by video replay, but the ruling on the ice was upheld as a no goal. Then at 2:47, Justin Abdelkader gave the Red Wings their third goal of the game, as he moved in slowly against the Pittsburgh defence and blasted a shot that caught Marc-Andre Fleury off guard as it landed in the net.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game two
Tensions flared up near the end of the game at 19:41 of the third period. Maxime Talbot was called for slashing, which eventually led to a fight between Malkin and Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg. Malkin received an instigator penalty and a misconduct penalty, but was not suspended by the league for the incident.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game three
The Penguins won game three, 4–2, cutting their deficit in the series in half. Pittsburgh got off to a strong offensive start and scored first at 4:48 of the opening period when Evgeni Malkin set up Maxime Talbot, who fired a one-timed snapshot. Detroit answered less than two minutes later with a Henrik Zetterberg goal at 6:19 in the period. Zetterberg scored on a rebound after Ville Leino's wrap-around attempt was stopped by Marc-Andre Fleury. After Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik was called for interference, Johan Franzen responding by scoring a goal at 11:33 with under ten seconds left in the penalty.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game three
Franzen's score was a one-timer that resulted after Zetterberg fed him a pass around the goal crease. While Detroit dominated the middle of the first period, at one point firing nine straight shots, the Penguins caught a break when the officials missed a penalty for too many men when Pittsburgh had inadvertently created their own powerplay, and played with six men for nearly 30 seconds. Pittsburgh then used a late holding call on Daniel Cleary to set up a game-tying power play goal. Defenceman Kris Letang fanned on a one-time attempt as he took a pass from Malkin, but regained control of the puck and fired a wrist shot into the net.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game three
The score remained unchanged through the second period, although Detroit had numerous scoring chances. The Penguins' Fleury stopped 16 Detroit shots in the frame, and caught a break as Mikael Samuelsson hit the post on a breakaway. The Penguins came out with strong defence in the third period, and the Detroit offence sputtered, at one point going over ten minutes without a shot. Midway through the third period, the Penguins earned a power play opportunity after Jonathan Ericsson was called for interference.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game three
At 10:29, Sergei Gonchar drilled a slapshot from near the blue line, which sailed through traffic and beat a screened Chris Osgood to give the Penguins the lead. Detroit could not mount a late surge with the extra attacker on the ice, and Talbot added an empty net goal at 19:03 for his second of the game to seal the victory.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game four
The Penguins picked up a 4–2 win in game four, equalling their performance from the previous meeting. Detroit found themselves at an early disadvantage, as a tripping call on Niklas Kronwall gave Pittsburgh a power play just over a minute into the game. Evgeni Malkin scored with the man advantage at 2:39 to give the Penguins an early lead. The goal occurred after Chris Osgood stopped a Jordan Staal shot, then Kris Letang fired a rebound wide that was picked up by Malkin and deposited behind the outstretched goaltender.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game four
Detroit ended the first period on a relentless assault, but Marc-Andre Fleury held the fort in goal for Pittsburgh, including a sequence in which he stopped four Detroit shots seconds apart. On that shift, Fleury cancelled a Darren Helm wrap around attempt, stood up to stop Mikael Samuelsson's rebound one-timer, then stopped Daniel Cleary on two more rebound tries. With 19 shots in the period, Detroit would eventually score at 18:19, after Helm forced Rob Scuderi into a turnover on a clearing attempt, then fired a wrist shot into the goal.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game four
Detroit took the lead early in the second period, after Henrik Zetterberg passed from behind the net to Brad Stuart at the point. Stuart's slap shot at 0:46 beat a screened Fleury, but provided one of the few sparks for Detroit in a nightmarish period. After Brooks Orpik was called for tripping, it was the Penguins who picked up great scoring opportunities during the Detroit power play. First, Osgood stopped Malkin on a breakaway. However, he was not able to keep Staal from scoring shorthanded.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game four
At 8:35, Staal lit the lamp after dragging the puck around Brian Rafalski by using his long reach. Just under two minutes later, Sidney Crosby finally scored his first goal of the series. Malkin stripped Brad Stuart, who had just mishandled a pass, and started a two-on-one with Crosby, who took the pass at 10:34 and shoved it into the net. At 14:12 in the period, Tyler Kennedy scored to extend the Pittsburgh lead. The play began when Kennedy beat Henrik Zetterberg to the puck on the forecheck.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game four
Chris Kunitz then took the puck and fed a pass to Crosby, who one-touched it to Kennedy for the goal, as Osgood was caught moving side-to-side. The third period featured several good chances by each team, but neither team was able to score and the game ended with a tied series.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game five
Detroit gained a huge boost in game five, as star two-way player Pavel Datsyuk played for the first time in the series after returning from a foot injury. The Penguins were the team that began the match with energy, dominating the first five minutes, and producing a variety of chances from the Evgeni Malkin–Ruslan Fedotenko–Maxime Talbot line. However, the Red Wings rallied around a rejuvenated Datsyuk to take over the game midway through the period. Datsuyk's skating allowed Detroit to score at 13:32 of the period, as he fed a pass to Daniel Cleary during a three-on-three transition play.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game five
Cleary used Penguins' defenceman Brooks Orpik as a screen as he shot the puck past goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins began to unravel in the second period, committing five minor penalties in the frame. This undisciplined hockey allowed Detroit to score three power play goals and one marker that occurred seconds after a penalty had expired.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game five
At 1:44 of the second, the Red Wings scored their second goal. On the final seconds of a power play, Fleury made a sprawling save on Datsuyk, the puck was cleared, and the penalty expired. However, as the Penguins attempted to make a line change, goaltender Chris Osgood fed a long pass for Detroit to Marian Hossa, who slipped a pass into the slot, enabling a streaking Valtteri Filppula to score on the backhand. Three straight penalty calls on Pittsburgh would then lead to Red Wing scores.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game five
A slashing minor on Sergei Gonchar eventually allowed a high wrist shot by Niklas Kronwall at 8:35 to find the back of the net. Kronwall scored after pinching into the corner and playing in a forward position. He then took a pass from Johan Franzen and patiently waited for Fleury to go down before lifting the puck. An elbowing penalty on Evgeni Malkin led to a Brian Rafalski goal at 11:34, which saw the defenceman take a pass from Datsyuk and score on a wrist shot from the right circle. A Chris Kunitz roughing penalty set up Henrik Zetterberg.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game five
At 15:40, Zetterberg took a shot-pass from Jiri Hudler and peeled to the front of the net to deposit the puck over Fleury's glove. After giving up the fifth goal, Fleury was replaced by Mathieu Garon, and the Penguins committed two more penalties in the second to give Detroit a two-man advantage on which they did not convert. The third period was mostly uneventful and the score remained 5–0 until the end of the game.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game six
The Penguins defeated the Red Wings in game six, 2–1, to force a seventh and deciding game of the finals. The first period featured strong defensive play by both teams. Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made a big early save as he stopped a one-timer by Henrik Zetterberg, who had just received a pass from Pavel Datsyuk on a two-on-one rush.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game six
Detroit's Chris Osgood equalled Fleury's early brilliance, as he stopped Sidney Crosby on two separate power plays, first by stuffing his attempt to jam home a puck in the crease, then by denying him on a rush through the slot in transition. After a scoreless first period, Jordan Staal scored Pittsburgh's first goal at 0:51 in the second. Tyler Kennedy chipped a puck away from Valtteri Filppula in the Detroit zone, then passed the puck to Staal to start a two-on-one break. Osgood stopped Staal's first shot by tipping it with his glove, before the rebound was deposited into the net.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game six
Pittsburgh dominated the second period, but did not score again in the frame. They also caught a break as Zetterberg's forehand shot from the slot hit the post and was then held by Fleury as it ricochet off his back. Kennedy gave the Penguins their second goal at 5:35 of the third after gaining the puck by cycling behind Detroit's net with Maxime Talbot. Two Red Wing defenders went to Talbot, which gave Kennedy a clear lane to walk in front of the net and lift a shot high over Osgood.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game six
Kris Draper cut the Pittsburgh lead at 8:01, beating Marc-Andre Fleury on a wrist shot. The goal came after Jonathan Ericsson's slapshot was kicked aside and Draper was able to take the rebound and glide into scoring position. The Red Wings found their stride late in the game, but were thwarted on two late scoring chances. With 1:42 remaining, Daniel Cleary raced into the Penguins zone on a breakaway, but his shot was turned aside by Fleury. In the final thirty seconds, an unlikely hero stepped up for the Penguins. After Fleury stopped Datsyuk's shot, the puck came to the goal mouth, where Johan Franzen was ready to pounce. However, with Fleury out of position, Pittsburgh defenceman Rob Scuderi stepped in front of the loose puck and blocked three Franzen shots with his skates to preserve a win.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game seven
For the first time, the Pittsburgh Penguins played a seventh game in the Stanley Cup Finals, while the Red Wings made their seventh appearance in the deciding game. Detroit had previously gone 3–3 in game sevens. Their last Stanley Cup Finals game seven was in 1964 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, where they lost by the score of 4–0 in Maple Leaf Gardens.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game seven
Entering the contest, Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock joined Mike Keenan as the only men to coach Game 7's of the Stanley Cup Finals with two different teams, having been with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim when they lost to the New Jersey Devils in 2003 (the home team won all seven games of the series). Over the whole series, the Red Wings outscored the Penguins 17–14.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game seven
The opening half of the first period featured tentative play by both teams but with Pittsburgh outperforming Detroit offensively in the frame. However, the Red Wings got the best scoring chance, as Kirk Maltby gained possession of a bouncing puck after a faceoff in the Penguins' zone. Maltby's shot was then stopped by the glove of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury from point blank range. At 1:13 in the second period, Pittsburgh struck first, as Maxime Talbot scored following a turnover. The goal resulted after Brad Stuart attempted to clear the zone following a dump-in by Brooks Orpik into Detroit territory.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game seven
Evgeni Malkin used his skates to block Stuart's pass, and the puck found its way to Talbot, who patiently waited to find a shooting lane behind goaltender Chris Osgood. Both teams gained chances through the middle of the period, with each goalie coming up strong. On one sequence, Brian Rafalski made a quick pass to Darren Helm in the left circle, where he was stopped by Fleury. As Rafalski set up for a rebound shot, he lost the puck to Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke, who was then stuffed on a breakaway attempt. Soon afterward, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was crunched into the boards by Johan Franzen and sustained a knee injury. He would be healthy enough to play only one shift for the remainder of the game.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game seven
Talbot struck again at 10:07 in the period, as he curled the puck to fake a pass during a two-on-one break, then lifted it over Osgood's shoulder. The play began with Chris Kunitz splitting the Detroit defence with a pass in his own zone, allowing Talbot and Tyler Kennedy to move in on an odd man rush. The Penguins attempted to play conservatively in the third period and registered only one shot in the frame. At the same time, Detroit was able to sustain pressure on several occasions during the period.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game seven
At 13:53, the Red Wings got on the board, as Jonathan Ericsson drilled a one-timed slapshot behind Fleury from near the blue line, after receiving a pass from Niklas Lidstrom. Then, at 17:45, Detroit came within inches of pulling into a tie. However, Niklas Kronwall's wristshot from the right circle ricocheted off of Jordan Staal, hit the crossbar, then bounced away from any Red Wing skaters. Detroit gained one last chance on the final shift of the game.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game seven
After stopping an initial Henrik Zetterberg shot from the right faceoff circle, the rebound came loose to Nicklas Lidstrom at the left faceoff circle, forcing Fleury to make a diving stop with two seconds remaining to preserve the win and the championship. Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy after the game as the Most Valuable Player of the 2009 playoffs, becoming the first Russian-born player to win the trophy.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game seven
The Penguins became the first team since the 1971 Montreal Canadiens to win game seven of the Finals on the road. They were also the first road team to win game seven of a championship round, in any major league sport, since the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4–1 at Memorial Stadium to win the 1979 World Series. For the Red Wings, it was the first time that they lost in the Finals since 1995, when they were swept by the Devils.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game seven
It was also the first time that the visiting team has won the Cup at Joe Louis Arena in the venue's 30-year history, and the Penguins became the first visiting team to win the Cup in Detroit since the Montreal Canadiens did so in 1966 at the now-demolished Olympia Stadium. They were also the first team to win the Stanley Cup without finishing first in a division during the regular season since the Devils in 2000. This was the last ever Stanley Cup Finals game played at Joe Louis Arena.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Officials
The following officials worked the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals: (Bold-face indicates worked Game 7)


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Television coverage
In Canada, all games of the Finals were broadcast in English on the CBC and in French on the cable network RDS. CBC had a new broadcast team calling the Finals with Jim Hughson as play-by-play announcer, and Craig Simpson as colour commentator.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Television coverage
In the United States, this was the first time since 1999 that game one of the Cup Finals aired on over-the-air television instead of on cable: NBC broadcast the first two and final three games of the series, while Versus broadcast games three and four. The first two games of the series were played on consecutive nights due to NBC's scheduling, but was done to help promote the game and keep the hockey viewership growing.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Television coverage
Game seven was the last major sporting event on analogue television in the United States, with the DTV transition finishing less than an hour-and-a-half after the game ended and just one hour after NBC coverage ended. NBC affiliates WDIV-TV in Detroit and WPXI in Pittsburgh – who months before the Stanley Cup playoffs began electing to keep their own respective analogue signals on until June 12, well past the original February 17 deadline – both remained on the air for game seven before cutting their analogue signals at 11:59 EDT.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Television coverage, Ratings
In the United States, with an average of eight million viewers, game seven was the most-watched NHL game in the United States since game six of the 1973 Stanley Cup Finals.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Television coverage, Ratings
In Canada, game seven drew an average of 3.529 million viewers to the CBC. However, it averaged 2.154 million viewers for the seven-game rematch, down 7% from the 2008 Finals.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Records
The Red Wings attempted to become the first team to successfully defend a championship since they did it in 1998. The Red Wings were also the first defending Stanley Cup champions to reach the Finals since 2001, when the 2000 champions New Jersey Devils lost to the Colorado Avalanche.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Records
The Penguins became the first team since the Edmonton Oilers in 1984 to win the Stanley Cup after having lost in the Finals the year before; it was also the first instance of a Stanley Cup Finals rematch since then. They were the first team in major professional sports to win a game seven of the championship round on the road since the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. They also became the third team to win a game seven in the Stanley Cup Finals as the visitor, the first since the Montreal Canadiens in 1971 (the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1945 being the other).


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Records
Seeded fourth in the Eastern Conference, the Penguins became the lowest-seeded team to win the Cup since the fourth-seeded New Jersey Devils in 2000, and tied for eighth overall in the NHL, they became (along with the 1991 Penguins and 1995 Devils), the only teams in the post-1967 expansion era to finish outside the top six overall and win the Cup. The last team to win a Stanley Cup with fewer than 100 points in the season was the 1997 Detroit Red Wings, with 94.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Records
The Penguins' Cup victory, coupled with that of the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII four months earlier, gave the city of Pittsburgh the distinction of being the only city to win a Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup in the same year. However, Detroit holds the distinction of being the first city to have NFL champions and NHL champions in the same city in the same year, 1952.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Records
Detroit sports fans also previously experienced a similar event in 1935 when the Tigers and Lions both won championships, and the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in the 1935-36 season, a span of only 6 months and 4 days. The "City of Champions" gained multiple titles in the same year for the second time and first time in 30 years (the Pirates won the 1979 World Series in between the Steelers' victories in Super Bowl XIII in January 1979 and Super Bowl XIV in January 1980). It also gives the state of Pennsylvania three champions in the four major professional sports in a span of nine months, with the Philadelphia Phillies winning the World Series the previous October.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Records
This was the second consecutive year that two American-based NHL teams competed for the championship, and the first time that two teams met in the Stanley Cup Finals in consecutive seasons since the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Islanders did so in 1983 and 1984.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Records
The first two games were played at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on consecutive weekend nights—May 30 and 31—the first time that Finals games have been played on consecutive days since 1955.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Records
Detroit's loss gave Mike Babcock the unfortunate distinction of being the first coach in NHL history to lose game seven of a Stanley Cup Finals with two different teams. Mike Keenan, the other to coach in two Finals game sevens with two different teams, had avoided the distinction by winning the second Finals game seven he coached. He was with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1987 when they lost to the Edmonton Oilers, and was with the New York Rangers when they won the Cup in 1994.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Records
This was the last Stanley Cup Finals played at both Mellon Arena and Joe Louis Arena, which was closed after the following season and the 2016–17 season, respectively. The Penguins moved to the Consol Energy Center for the 2010–11 season, and the Red Wings moved to Little Caesars Arena for the 2017–18 season.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Records
This was also the last Stanley Cup Finals that was ever played entirely in one time zone, as the Eastern Conference now consists of all of the league's teams that are based in the Eastern Time Zone, while the Western Conference consists entirely of the NHL's teams that are based outside of it.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving
The 2009 Stanley Cup was presented to Penguins captain Sidney Crosby by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman following the Penguins 2–1 win over the Red Wings in game seven.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving
The following Penguins players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving, Stanley Cup engraving
Dan Bylsma was the 13th rookie coach to win the Stanley Cup and the first since 1986. Bylsma only coached 25 regular season games, before leading Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup Finals. He is the second mid-season replacement rookie coach to win the Stanley Cup (See 1971 Stanley Cup Finals for the other coach, Al MacNeil). Bylsma was also a player under Mike Babcock on the 2002-03 and 2003-04 roster of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.


2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving, Stanley Cup engraving
Included on the team picture, but left off the Stanley Cup.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League began on April 15, 2009, after the 2008–09 regular season. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference (the winner of each of the three divisions plus the five teams with highest point totals from the teams remaining), played a best-of-seven series for the conference quarterfinals, semifinals, and championships, and then the conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup. The Columbus Blue Jackets made their first appearance in the playoffs in their nine-year history.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs
Previously they had been the only franchise never to have made the playoffs. Also, home teams set a record by going 13-2 in the openers of all the series combined. There were no playoff games played in the Province of Ontario as this was the first time that the modern Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs both missed the playoffs in the same year. This was the most recent time that the Carolina Hurricanes were in the playoffs until 2019.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs
The Finals ended on June 12, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Penguins defeating the Detroit Red Wings four games to three to win the championship. They became just the second team, after the 1971 Montreal Canadiens, to win the championship after losing the first two games of the series on the road.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Playoff seeds
The top eight teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The top three seeds in each conference were awarded to the division winners; while the five remaining spots were awarded to the highest finishers in their respective conferences.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Playoff bracket
In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage, which gives them a possible maximum of four games on their home ice, with the lower-seeded team getting a possible maximum of three. In the Stanley Cup Finals, home ice is determined based on regular season points. Thus, the Detroit Red Wings had home ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals. Each best-of-seven series followed a 2–2–1–1–1 format. This means that the higher-seeded team had home ice for games one and two and if necessary, five and seven, while the lower-seeded team had home ice for games three, four, and if necessary, game six.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (1) Boston Bruins vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
For an NHL-record 32nd time, the Bruins and Canadiens faced each other in the playoffs. The Boston Bruins entered the playoffs after finishing the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference with 116 points. The Montreal Canadiens qualified for the postseason as the eighth seed with 93 points, winning the tiebreaker over the Florida Panthers based on the season series (six points to three).


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (1) Boston Bruins vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
Boston swept Montreal, four games to none, scoring at least four goals in each win. With the score tied 2–2 entering the third period of game one, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara scored a power play goal at 11:15 and Phil Kessel added an empty net score in the closing seconds to clinch the victory. Boston scored three power play goals, including two from Marc Savard, en route to a 5–1 victory in game two.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (1) Boston Bruins vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
Game three resembled game one in that both teams fought to a 2–2 tie midway through the game, but like the first contest the Bruins scored the go-ahead winning goal again. This time it was Michael Ryder at 17:21 in the second period. Montreal scored in the first minute of game four off the stick of Andrei Kostitsyn, but Boston went on to dominate the rest of the game, grabbing two goals from Ryder in a 4–1 victory, to win the series.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (2) Washington Capitals vs. (7) New York Rangers
The Washington Capitals entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Southeast Division with 108 points. The New York Rangers earned the seventh seed with 95 points. The teams met in the playoffs four times previously, with each winning two series. They last met in the 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals, which the Rangers won in five games.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (2) Washington Capitals vs. (7) New York Rangers
The Capitals overcame a three games to one deficit to win the series. The Rangers won the first game by a 4–3 score, with Brandon Dubinsky scoring the game winner at 11:43 in the third period. Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau benched starting goaltender Jose Theodore and replaced him with Simeon Varlamov for game two, after Theodore allowed four goals on just 21 shots. The goaltending change was not immediately effective as New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 35 Washington shots to give the Rangers a 1–0 victory (with Ryan Callahan providing the only tally) in the following game.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (2) Washington Capitals vs. (7) New York Rangers
Varlamov responded in game three by stopping all 33 Ranger shots, and Alexander Semin scored two goals, to lead the Capitals to a 4–0 victory. However, Lundqvist stopped 38 of 39 shots, including 10 of 11 from the stick of Alexander Ovechkin, to give the Rangers a 2–1 victory in game four. The Capitals limited the Rangers to just 20 shots to win 4–0 in Game five. Fourth liner Matt Bradley scored two goals in the game and Lundquist was pulled after allowing four goals on 14 shots.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (2) Washington Capitals vs. (7) New York Rangers
Washington erupted in game six to score five goals, including powerplay markers from Mike Green and Ovechkin, for a 5–3 victory. After game six, the league suspended Capitals forward Donald Brashear for both a pre-game altercation with Rangers forward Colton Orr and what was ruled to be a late hit on Blair Betts, in which the Rangers center suffered an orbital eye socket fracture. Sergei Fedorov scored the game-winning goal 15:01 into the third period in game seven to give the Capitals a 2–1 victory and eliminate the Rangers for their first playoff series victory since reaching the Stanley Cup final in 1998.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes
The New Jersey Devils entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Atlantic Division with 106 points. The Carolina Hurricanes earned the sixth seed with 97 points. These teams met three times previously in the playoffs, with the Hurricanes winning two series. They last met in the 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinals, with the Hurricanes winning in five games.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes defeated the Devils in seven games. New Jersey won the first game with goaltender Martin Brodeur stopping 18 of 19 shots and the Devils' top line playing phenomenally, with Zach Parise and Patrik Elias coming up with goals. . In game two, Tim Gleason scored 2:40 into overtime for his first goal of the season to give Carolina a 2–1 victory.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes
The game was a goaltending battle that saw Brodeur and Cam Ward each stop over 30 shots Game 3 also went into overtime, but this time the Devils prevailed, 3–2, with Travis Zajac scoring at 4:48 into the extra period. It appeared that game four would also go into overtime, but it ended with an epic conclusion. Carolina led 3-0, but New Jersey rallied to tie the game in the third. Jussi Jokinen proved to be the hero, as he scored on a deflection with 0.2 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Hurricanes a 4–3 victory.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes
This goal was the latest game winning regulation goal in Stanley Cup Playoff history. The next two games of the series were shutouts: Brodeur stopped 44 shots in a 1–0 victory for the Devils in game five (with David Clarkson providing the game's sole goal), while Cam Ward stopped 28 shots and Eric Staal scored twice in a 4–0 victory for Carolina in game six. The Hurricanes were behind for much of game seven but scored two goals inside the last 1:20 of the third period, one by Jokinen and the other by Staal, to win the contest 4–3 and eliminate the Devils.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers qualified for the playoffs as the fourth and fifth seeds in the Eastern Conference, respectively. Both finished the regular season with 99 points, but the Penguins won the tiebreaker based on total wins (45 to 44). The Penguins and Flyers had previously met in the previous season's Eastern Conference Final, with the Penguins winning in five games. It was the Penguins first win against the Flyers, having lost against them in three previous series (1989, 1997 and 2000).


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers
The Penguins defeated the Flyers in six games. Sidney Crosby scored a power play goal early in the first period of game one, sparking the Penguins to a 4–1 win against an undisciplined Flyers team that took 12 penalties. In game two, Bill Guerin scored two goals including the game-winner during a five-on-three power play at 18:29 in overtime to give Pittsburgh a 3–2 victory. The Flyers bounced back in game three with a 6–3 victory that featured two goals by Simon Gagne.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 45 shots and helped kill off nine Philadelphia power plays, while Tyler Kennedy scored the game winner, to give Pittsburgh a 3–1 win in Game 4. Flyers goaltender Martin Biron stopped all 28 shots, and Philadelphia got scoring from unlikely sources such as Arron Asham, to give the Flyers a 3–0 victory in game five. Then in game six, Philadelphia jumped to a 3–0 lead in the second period and appeared to be on their way to force a game seven. However, a fight between Philadelphia's Daniel Carcillo and Pittsburgh's Max Talbot reenergized the Penguins, who erupted to score five unanswered goals, including two by Crosby, to win the game and the series.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (1) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Anaheim Ducks
The series between the Sharks and Ducks was just the second time in NHL history that two California teams were facing each other in the playoffs. The first series was in 1969 between the Los Angeles Kings and the Oakland Seals. The San Jose Sharks entered the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winner, earning the NHL's best regular season record with 117 points. The Anaheim Ducks earned 91 points to clinch the eighth playoff seed in the Western Conference.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (1) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks defeated the Sharks in six games, to become just the second California team (after the 2000 Sharks over the St. Louis Blues) to eliminate a Presidents' Trophy winner in the first round of the playoffs. Anaheim goaltender Jonas Hiller earned two shutout victories in games one and four, stopping a total of 66 shots.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (1) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Anaheim Ducks
Game one was deadlocked until a Scott Niedermayer powerplay goal broke the ice at 5:18 in the third, while game four was dominated by Anaheim and featured two goals from Bobby Ryan Hiller also stopped 42 out of 44 shots in game two, as Drew Miller picked up the game winner, and 36 out of 37 shots in a game six that saw the Ducks produce powerplay goals from Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne. In total, Hiller allowed only ten goals in the series.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (1) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Anaheim Ducks
For the Sharks, Dan Boyle scored two goals in game three to give San Jose a 4–3 win in that contest, while Patrick Marleau scored the game-winning goal in game five to give the Sharks a 3–2 overtime victory. However, back in Anaheim for game six, the Ducks grabbed goals from big-name players like Selanne and Perry, dominating the Sharks to win the game 4–1, and eliminating the Sharks.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (7) Columbus Blue Jackets
The Detroit Red Wings, the defending Stanley Cup Champions, entered the playoffs as the second overall seed in the Western Conference, having clinched the Central Division title with 112 points. The Columbus Blue Jackets qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, clinching the seventh seed with 92 points but losing the tiebreaker over the St. Louis Blues with three points head-to-head versus ten.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (7) Columbus Blue Jackets
This was the first Western Conference playoff series played entirely within the Eastern Time Zone since the Red Wings played the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1993 Norris Division Semifinals, and this would prove to be the last ever occurrence, as both of these teams were realigned into the Eastern Conference prior to the start of the 2013–14 season.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (7) Columbus Blue Jackets
The Red Wings swept the Blue Jackets in four games. Detroit scored four goals in each of the first three games of the series, while goaltender Chris Osgood only allowed two total goals out of 78 Columbus shots in those three games, including a shutout victory in game two. Jiri Hudler broke the ice at 10:48 in the second period for the game one win. Detroit picked up powerplay goals from Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, and Hudler in game two. Henrik Zetterberg scored twice in a game three victory


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (7) Columbus Blue Jackets
The fourth game proved to be the most competitive contest of the series. Nicklas Lidstrom scored a power play goal early in the first period to give the Red Wings the lead before Kristian Huselius tied the score about three minutes later on a power play goal of his own. Tomas Holmstrom and Dan Cleary then scored to give Detroit a 3–1 lead before the end of the opening period.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (7) Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus fought to tie the score again at 5:38 of the second period with goals by Rick Nash and R. J. Umberger, but the Red Wings Marian Hossa answered with two consecutive goals to give his team a two-goal lead again. The Blue Jackets then rallied to tie the score, 5–5, by the closing minutes of the second period with scores by Kris Russell and Fredrik Modin. The third period remained scoreless until the closing minutes of regulation. With less than two minutes left, the Blue Jackets were called for too many men on the ice, which enabled Johan Franzen to score the series winning power play goal with 46.6 seconds remaining.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) St. Louis Blues
The Vancouver Canucks entered the playoffs as the third overall seed in the Western Conference, having clinched the Northwest Division title with 100 points. The St. Louis Blues qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2004, clinching the sixth seed with 92 points and winning the tiebreaker over the Columbus Blue Jackets with ten points head-to-head versus three. This was the third meeting in the playoffs for these two teams, the Canucks winning both previous series. They last met in the 2003 Western Conference Quarterfinals, with the Canucks winning in seven games.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) St. Louis Blues
Vancouver swept St. Louis in four games, their first sweep of a best-of-seven series in franchise history, to move on to the second round. The Canucks held off the Blues in game one, winning 2–1 by gaining goals from Daniel Sedin and Sami Salo and killing off a long Blues five-on-three power play midway through the first period. Vancouver then shut out St. Louis in game two, 3–0, with goaltender Roberto Luongo stopping all 30 Blues shots and Mats Sundin providing the game-winning goal.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) St. Louis Blues
The Blues were hoping to gain momentum when the series shifted to St. Louis for game three, but Vancouver held on to a 3–2 win, scoring three power play goals, with Mattias Ohlund, Sedin, and Steve Bernier providing the man-advantage tallies. In game four, Brad Boyes and David Perron helped St. Louis to tie the game after falling behind early. However, Alexandre Burrows scored with 18.9 seconds left in the first overtime period to give the Canucks a 3–2 victory and the four-game sweep.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (4) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (5) Calgary Flames
The Chicago Blackhawks finished the regular season in second place in the Central division with 104 points and thus entered the playoffs as the fourth-overall seed in the Western Conference. The Calgary Flames earned 98 points during the regular season to finish fifth-overall in the Western Conference. Chicago made the playoffs for the first time since 2002. The two teams met in the playoffs three times previously, with the Flames winning two series. They last met in the 1996 Western Conference Quarterfinals, with the Blackhawks winning in four games.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (4) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (5) Calgary Flames
Chicago won the series over Calgary in six games, with the home team winning the first five games of the series. Martin Havlat scored the game-winning goal 12 seconds into overtime to win game one for the Blackhawks, 3–2. Then in game two, Chicago overcame a 2-goal deficit by scoring 3 goals in the second period, including a pair from Jonathan Toews, to win 3–2. When the series shifted to Calgary for game three, David Moss scored two goals to help the Flames earn a 4–2 victory.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (4) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (5) Calgary Flames
In game four, Calgary scored six goals, including two by each of their top stars Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen, to win 6–4. The Blackhawks responded in game five by exploding to a 5–1 victory, going up 3–0 after one period with goals from Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp, and Kris Versteeg, and limiting the Flames to 20 shots on goal. Chicago defeated Calgary by a score of 4–1 in game six to win the series, with Patrick Kane providing the early game winner and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin stopping 43 out of 44 shots.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals
For the first time since the 2001 playoffs, at least three Conference semi-final series extended to seven games.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes
The was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bruins winning two of the previous three series. They last met in the 1999 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Bruins winning in six games. The Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the Boston Bruins in seven games to advance to their first Eastern Conference Final since their Cup championship season in 2006. Marc Savard scored two goals to help give the Bruins a 4–1 victory in game one, but the Hurricanes won the next three games of the series.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes
First, Carolina goaltender Cam Ward stopped all 36 shots and Matt Cullen provided a shorthanded marker in a 3–0 victory in game two. Next, Jussi Jokinen scored at 2:48 into overtime of game three to give the Hurricanes a 3–2 victory. In game four, Eric Staal scored two goals and Ward stopped 18 out of only 19 shots en route to a 4–1 victory. However, Phil Kessel scored two goals and goaltender Tim Thomas stopped all 19 shots to give Boston a 4–0 victory in game five.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes
Thomas then stopped 31 out of 33 shots and Mark Recchi provided an early game winner to help the Bruins win 4–2 in game six. The Hurricanes led game seven after two periods, but Milan Lucic tied the game at 6:19 in the third. However, Scott Walker scored the game-winning goal at 18:46 into the first overtime period to give the Hurricanes a 3–2 victory and the series.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Washington Capitals vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Penguins winning six of the previous seven series. They last met in the 2001 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, with the Penguins winning in seven games. The Pittsburgh Penguins advanced to their second consecutive Eastern Conference Final after defeating the Washington Capitals, 6–2, in game seven of their Conference Semi-final series. The Capitals appeared to have control of the series after winning the first two games.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Washington Capitals vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins
In game one, Washington goaltender Semyon Varlamov came up with a career-high 34 saves and Tomas Fleischmann provided a decisive third period goal in a 3–2 victory. Then in game two, both the Penguins' Sidney Crosby and the Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin each earned hat tricks, but David Steckel's goal in the second period ultimately made the difference in Washington's 4–3 win. However, Pittsburgh went on to win three consecutive games.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Washington Capitals vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins
Late in the third period of game three, Evgeni Malkin appeared to have the game winning powerplay marker for the Penguins, but Nicklas Backstrom tied the game on a Washington powerplay at 18:10. Kris Letang's game-winning goal at 11:23 into overtime gave the Penguins a 3–2 win. Pittsburgh then erupted to score three goals in the first period of game four, coming from the sticks of Sergei Gonchar, Bill Guerin, and Ruslan Fedotenko, en route to a 5–3 victory.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Washington Capitals vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins also had another overtime victory in game five, with Evgeni Malkin scoring this time on a power play at 3:28 into the extra period for a 4–3 win. The Capitals rebounded in game six with an overtime victory of their own, as David Steckel scored at 6:22 into the extra period to give Washington a 5–4 win.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Washington Capitals vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins
In the deciding seventh game of the series, Varlamov, who had posted a 2.21 GAA and two shutouts in the playoffs, was pulled in the second period as the Penguins took a 4–0 lead only 2:13 into the second period. At the time that Varlamov was replaced by Jose Theodore, Pittsburgh had outshot Washington 18–5. The Penguins won 6–2 in dominating fashion, picking up a pair of goals from Crosby, to close out the series.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Washington Capitals vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins
Crosby finished the series with thirteen points—one fewer than Ovechkin's fourteen points, which was the highest single-series point total since the 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Anaheim Ducks
The Detroit Red Wings advanced to their third consecutive Western Conference Final, and eighth since 1995, after eliminating the Anaheim Ducks in seven games. This Conference Semifinal match up featured the last two winners of the Stanley Cup, with Anaheim and Detroit winning the Cup in 2007 and 2008 respectively. This also marked the fifth series the two teams faced each other in since their first encounter in 1997. Both teams had won two series' each with the Wings winning in 1997 and 1999, and the Ducks winning in 2003 and 2007.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Anaheim Ducks
In game one, Nicklas Lidstrom scored two goals, including the game-winner with about 49 seconds left in regulation to break a 2–2 tie to give the Red Wings the victory. Anaheim's Todd Marchant scored at 1:15 into triple overtime of game two to give the Ducks a 4–3 victory, after goaltender Jonas Hiller stopped 59 Red Wing shots. Game three then ended in controversy: Anaheim was nursing a 2–1 lead with 1:04 remaining in the third period, aided by Hiller's eventual 45 saves and goals from Teemu Selanne and Scott Neidermayer.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Anaheim Ducks
Detroit's Marian Hossa appeared to have scored the game-tying goal, but referee Brad Watson blew the play dead after losing sight of the puck and the Ducks held on to win the game. Despite the controversial call, the Red Wings bounced back to even the series in game four, with Hossa and Johan Franzen scoring two goals apiece en route to a 6–3 victory. Detroit then went on to win game five, 4–1, with Franzen and Jiri Hudler scoring just 39 seconds apart in the second period to provide the game's first goals.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Anaheim Ducks
In game six, goaltender Jonas Hiller stopped 38 out of 39 shots as Ryan Getzlaf and Cory Perry each scored to give the Ducks a 2–1 victory. In game seven, Bobby Ryan pulled the Ducks into a 3–3 tie at 7:37 of the third period. However, Red Wings forward Dan Cleary scored the game-winning goal with 3:00 left in regulation after Hiller lost sight of the puck behind him and pushed it over the goal line, to give the Red Wings a 4–3 victory and the series.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks eliminated the Vancouver Canucks in six games, to advance to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 1995. This was just the third time that these two teams faced each other in the playoffs. In 1982, the Canucks eliminated the Blackhawks in five games in the Campbell Conference final, while the Blackhawks won a 1995 conference semifinals series in a four-game sweep.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks
Sami Salo scored at 18:47 in the third period of game one to break a 3–3 tie, giving the Canucks an eventual 5–3 win. The Blackhawks bounced back in game two, overcoming a 2–0 deficit in the second period to go on to a 6–3 victory, with Patrick Sharp and Dave Bolland scoring two goals each. Vancouver regained the series lead in game three, with goaltender Roberto Luongo stopping 23 out of 24 shots and Steve Bernier providing a powerplay goal to earn a 3–1 victory. However, Chicago went on to win the next three games to close the series.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks
First, Martin Havlat tied game four at 17:16 in the third period and Andrew Ladd scoring at 2:52 into overtime to give the Blackhawks a 2–1 victory. Dustin Byfuglien then scored two goals en route to a 4–2 Chicago win in game five. Finally, the Blackhawks won a high-scoring game six, 7–5, with Patrick Kane earning a hat trick.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Final, (4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes
This was the first time these two teams met in the playoffs. The Pittsburgh Penguins swept the Carolina Hurricanes in four games, to advance to their second consecutive Stanley Cup Final series. Pittsburgh jumped to a 2–0 lead in the first period of game one, with goals by Miroslav Satan and Evgeni Malkin, before Philippe Boucher added a third period power play goal. Marc-Andre Fleury made a sprawling save on an Eric Staal one-timer in the closing seconds to allow the Penguins to hang on for a 3–2 victory. Game two featured offensive assaults by both teams.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Final, (4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes
Patrick Eaves tied the game for Carolina early in the third period, but Malkin responded by scoring two highlight reel markers to complete a hat trick en route to a 7–4 win. In game three, Malkin had two goals and an assist in a 6–2 victory. Carolina outplayed Pittsburgh for much of game four and got off to a hot start when Staal scored on a wrap around move. However, the Penguins scored four unanswered goals, including a Max Talbot tally that ricocheted strangely off of goaltender Cam Ward to let the Penguins take the lead late in the opening frame, as they picked up a 4–1 win.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Final, (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks
The was the 15th meeting between these two teams in the playoffs, with the Blackhawks winning eight of the previous fourteen series. They last met in the 1995 Western Conference Final, with the Red Wings winning in five games. The Detroit Red Wings eliminated the Chicago Blackhawks in five games again, to advance to their second consecutive Stanley Cup Final series. Three of the five games in the series were decided in overtime. Dan Cleary scored two goals en route to a 5–2 Detroit victory in game one.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Final, (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks
In game two, Jonathan Toews scored two Chicago goals, including one that tied the game at 12:20 in the third period. However, Mikael Samuelsson scored at 5:14 into overtime to give the Red Wings a 3–2 win. Chicago bounced back in game three with a 4–3 win of Patrick Sharp's overtime goal at 1:52 into the extra period. The Blackhawks took an early 3–0 lead in the game but saw Detroit bounce back with three goals from defencemen in the second period.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Final, (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks
During the game, Blackhawks goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin was injured and replaced for the third period and overtime by Cristobal Huet. The game also featured a controversial hit from Nicklas Kronwall that injured star Chicago winger Martin Havlat. Detroit dominated game four, winning 6–1, with Marian Hossa and Henrik Zetterberg each tallying a pair of goals. Game five was an exhibition in goaltending with Chris Osgood and Cristobal Huet each making a variety of spectacular saves. However, Darren Helm proved to be the eventual hero, scoring at 3:58 into overtime to give the Red Wings a 2–1 win and the series. This was the last Western Conference Final series to be played entirely outside of California until 2018.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Stanley Cup Finals
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams and a rematch of the previous year's Stanley Cup Finals which Detroit won in six games. This was the first time since 1983 and 1984 that same teams met in consecutive finals. This was Detroit's twenty-fourth Finals appearance; while Pittsburgh made their fourth appearance in the Finals. The teams split their two-game regular season series.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Player statistics, Skaters
These are the top ten skaters based on points. If the list exceeds ten skaters because of a tie in points, all of the tied skaters are shown.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Player statistics, Skaters
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Player statistics, Goaltending
This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion is bolded.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Player statistics, Goaltending
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds)


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Television
National Canadian English-language coverage of the playoffs were split between the CBC and TSN, with the CBC holding exclusive rights to the Stanley Cup Finals. French-language telecasts were broadcast on RDS and RDS2. This was the first postseason that the CBC and TSN selected the rights to individual series in the first three rounds using a draft-like setup. The CBC had first, second, fourth, and sixth choices of first-round series; first and third in the second round, and first in the Conference Finals. TSN then had third, fifth, seventh, and eighth choices of first-round series; second and fourth in the second round; and second in the Conference Finals. These changes also allowed TSN to broadcast playoff games involving Canadian teams for the first time, removing the CBC's exclusivity on them.


2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, Television
In the United States, coverage was split between NBC and Versus. During the first three rounds, NBC primarily televised weekend afternoon games and Versus aired evening games. During the first and second round, excluding games exclusively broadcast on NBC, the regional rights holders of each participating U.S. team produced local telecasts of their respective games. Not all first and second round games were nationally televised, while the Conference Finals were exclusively broadcast on either NBC or Versus. NBC then aired the first two and final three games of the Stanley Cup Finals, while Versus broadcast games three and four.


2009 Star Mazda Championship
The 2009 Star Mazda Championship was the eleventh season of the Star Mazda Championship, an open wheel auto racing series that competes using spec chassis and engines. It consisted of a 13-race schedule beginning in March and ending in October. For the first time since 2006, the series featured races on oval tracks, more precisely the Milwaukee Mile and the Iowa Speedway. The remaining races except the one at Virginia were held jointly with the also Mazda-backed Atlantic Championship. In addition to the main championship that is typically tested by young, developing drivers, there were also additional class titles for senior drivers.


2009 Star Mazda Championship
Adam Christodoulou won the championship ahead of Peter Dempsey, after the Irish driver's retirement at the final round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca gifted the title to the Briton. Chris Cumming and Michael Guasch won class titles for older drivers.


2009 Star Mazda Championship, Championship standings, Masters (age 45 and older)
Note: Expert and Masters classes have different point system than the overall championship.


2009 Star World Championships
The 2009 Star World Championships were held in Varberg, Sweden between August 2 and 7, 2009.


2009 Star World Championships, Results
Legend: BFD – Black flag disqualification; DNC – Did not come to the starting area; DNF – Did not finish; DNS – Did not start; DSQ – Disqualified;


2009 State of Origin series
The 2009 State of Origin series was the 28th time that the annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league football teams was played entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules. Queensland won their first two matches to retain the shield and to record 14 series wins, as well as the first time in Origin history that a state had won the series for four consecutive years. Maroon centre Greg Inglis was awarded the Wally Lewis Medal as player of the series.


2009 State of Origin series, Game I
For the first time game one of the series was played in Melbourne. The stakes were high for New South Wales in the face of the genuine possibility of a four consecutive series defeat – never yet suffered since the introduction of the three match series format. Blues selectors opted for eight debutantes, dropping fourteen of the seventeen players who appeared in game I of 2008. The new faces were McManus, Jennings, Stewart, Campese, Farah, Creagh, Weyman and Poore.


2009 State of Origin series, Game I
With abundant talent and experience to choose from, Queensland selectors opted for the international backline who had represented Australia in April against New Zealand, meaning Slater at fullback dislodged incumbent Maroon fullback Hunt to the interchange bench. The entire Queensland squad had previous Origin experience with thirteen of them having represented on six or more occasions.


2009 State of Origin series, Game I
New South Wales took a 2–0 lead after an early penalty goal but then in the eighth minute a try to their winger Hayne was disallowed after a long video-referee deliberation. Hayne's right boot was ruled to have brushed the touch line on his way to score, overruling the on field decision of the touch judge. This decision appeared to rock the confidence of the young Blues squad and soon after Queensland took a commanding lead with a succession of tries to Slater, Inglis and then Thurston. Creagh crossed for the Blues before half-time picking up a pass from Hayne after he had chased a kick. The scoreline was 18–6 at the break.


2009 State of Origin series, Game I
As the second half kicked off, Inglis struck quickly with a spectacular try from long range to take the score to 24–6 and his tally to two. New South Wales from that point found some structure and the game played more like the traditional origin arm wrestle till Craig Wing made his entrance from the Blues interchange bench at the 53 minute mark.


2009 State of Origin series, Game I
Two minutes later, off a deflected kick, Wing scored to bring New South Wales within twelve and the Blues dummy halves – Wing and Farah double tagging in the role – began to find gaps in amongst the tiring Queensland forwards. In the 69th minute, another lucky kick deflection, this time off Maroons prop Steve Price and into the hands of Farah which was then passed to Hayne, resulted in Hayne's second try and a 24–18 scoreline with 10 minutes to go. However, in the 78th minute, following a handling error from Blues fullback Kurt Gidley, Darius Boyd crossed in the corner after the scrum, to seal Queensland a 28–18 victory and first blood in the series.


2009 State of Origin series, Game I
The game was watched by a national audience of 3.48 million people which was a record.


2009 State of Origin series, Game II
Although the media speculated immediately after game I that New South Wales selectors would stick firm with the initial squad, by the time the game II team was announced on 15 June a number of injuries paved the way for numerous changes including the selection of shadow players to cover some players in doubt: Trent Barrett was recalled in his first season back in the NRL since 2007 replacing Terry Campese (dropped); Paul Gallen was selected at lock, replacing Anthony Laffranchi (dropped); Glenn Stewart and Anthony Watmough were moved onto the interchange bench replacing the injured Lewis and Luke Bailey; David Williams was picked on the wing to replace the injured James McManus. Blues selectors also named three shadow players – Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, Joel Monaghan and Josh Morris to cover injuries doubts over Michael Jennings, Jamie Lyon and Craig Wing. Ultimately, Monaghan and Morris came into the side for Jennings and Wing respectively who failed to overcome injury.


2009 State of Origin series, Game II
Despite seven players being struck by a virus 24 hours before kick-off, for Queensland the only change was Willie Tonga who was selected to replace the injured Justin Hodges and to make his first Origin appearance since 2004. Neville Costigan was put on stand-by as 18th man instead of Matthew Scott. This was also the first time ever that every club in the NRL provided a player for State of Origin.


2009 State of Origin series, Game II
Queensland were set to make history by achieving four series wins in a row. They looked on their way when they went out to an 18–0 lead after 25 minutes with tries to Greg Inglis, Israel Folau and Darren Lockyer. A 22nd minute high shot from Trent Barrett on Inglis, fractured his jaw and saw the Queenslander sidelined for the remainder of the match. Petero Civoniceva also suffered a season-ending foot injury in the first half. Two miraculous tries to Jarryd Hayne had NSW on the comeback trail at halftime.


2009 State of Origin series, Game II
New South Wales then scored again with just under 20 minutes to go to make it an 18–14 scoreline with debutant David Williams scoring. It looked as though NSW could snatch an upset but Queensland put the game beyond doubt when Cameron Smith scored with a minute remaining making the final score 24–14. The Maroons therefore become the first side to win 4 series in a row, since the State of Origin began in 1980 winning 2006, 2007, 2008 and now 2009.


2009 State of Origin series, Game III
Injuries saw Queenslanders Hannant and Civoniceva replaced by Scott and Shillington. Neville Costigan moved from 18th man in game II to an interchange spot replacing Nate Myles.


2009 State of Origin series, Game III
New South Wales selectors made a number of changes. Kimmorley was brought in to replace Wallace, making the Blues' halves combination the oldest in Origin history. Morris was brought in for Lyon and Ennis brought in for Farah. Perry, Waterhouse and White, all experienced Origin campaigners, made a return to the side at the expense of Weyman and O'Donnell. Jennings and Poore returned from injury, replacing Monaghan and Kite.


2009 State of Origin series, Game III
The Blues also took a leaf out of Queensland's book by having past New South Wales Origin players join the pre-match camp to help the team prepare.


2009 State of Origin series, Game III
Game III saw New South Wales looking down the barrel of not just a fourth straight series win to Queensland, but a clean sweep series. Sam Thaiday and Ashley Harrison were approved to play for Queensland in spite of carrying injuries into the game. The heroes for NSW were Kurt Gidley, playing injured and who hadn't been potent in attack in the first two games, Brett Kimmorley making his first Origin return since game II of 2007 and Anthony Watmough who was tireless in attack and defence.


2009 State of Origin series, Game III
Queensland took the lead in the 13th minute with a try to Dallas Johnson before Ben Creagh powered over the line six minutes later for the Blues off a short-pass from Watmough. In the 34th minute New South Wales winger David Williams was awarded a try after juggling the ball picked up from a Trent Barrett kick. Thurston lashed out with his boot in desperate defence and kicked Williams in the mouth as he attempted to score. The Blues were thus awarded the first eight-point try in Origin history.


2009 State of Origin series, Game III
Kimmorley ran down Greg Inglis with a tackle that took the giant centre across the touchline and stopped a certain Queensland try and moments later Kurt Gidley did likewise to a runaway Darius Boyd.


2009 State of Origin series, Game III
The tension was high right to the end. In the 78th minute Jarryd Hayne crossed but the try was disallowed since in the previous play Steve Price had been illegally concussed. After being knocked out by a Brett White punch, Price was "blindsided" on his way down by Trent Waterhouse and then medi-cabbed off several minutes later in a state of severe concussion. Queensland players became particularly incensed by the actions of Justin Poore who appeared to pick up and then let fall to the ground the concussed Price.


2009 State of Origin series, Game III
This act was labelled by some Queensland players as 'a dog act'. Waterhouse became the first Blues player in Origin history to be sent off while Justin Hodges challenged Brett White to a one-on-one fight. White accepted the challenge by way of a nod and can be seen in several alternate angles (as shown on The Footy Show) responding "Come on! ", shortly after licking the blood from his lips in a provocative manner.


2009 State of Origin series, Game III
Hodges then signalled for White to come to him and fight, in an attempt to goad White into precipitating a new fight and get sent off, however White ultimately did not accept. Queensland were then awarded a penalty and kicked the ball to New South Wales full back Kurt Gidley who was swamped by Johnathan Thurston, Sam Thaiday, Neville Costigan and Karmichael Hunt. Creagh then pushed Hodges who had come in as support and quickly backpedaled behind his teammates, precipitating a new altercation.


2009 State of Origin series, Game III
Both Creagh and Thaiday were sin binned although the officials were criticised for allowing White, Hodges and Price's replacement to remain on the field. When the fight was finished and Gidley played the ball Williams took the game's final hit-up tackled by Johnathan Thurston which then sparked Michael Crocker to try to fight Blues hooker Michael Ennis before Referee Shayne Hayne broke up their melee and ended the match.


2009 State of Origin series, Teams
The 18th man is a reserve to cover for any forthcoming injuries and, unless chosen, does not actually play.


2009 State of Origin series, Teams, New South Wales Blues
1 – Glenn Stewart was originally selected for game one, but subsequently forced to withdraw following suspension for a dangerous tackle. He was replaced by Luke Lewis.


2009 State of Origin series, Teams, New South Wales Blues
2 – Paul Gallen was originally selected to play for game one, but withdrew due to injury. He was replaced by Anthony Laffranchi.


2009 State of Origin series, Teams, New South Wales Blues
3 – Michael Jennings was originally selected to play for game two, but withdrew due to injury. He was replaced by Joel Monaghan.


2009 State of Origin series, Teams, New South Wales Blues
4 – Craig Wing was originally selected to play for game 2, but withdrew due to injury. He was replaced by Josh Morris.


2009 State of Origin series, Teams, New South Wales Blues
5 – Jamie Lyon was originally selected to play for game 3, but withdrew due to injury. He was replaced by Josh Morris.


2009 Status Athens Open
The 2009 Status Athens Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was part of the 2009 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Athens, Greece between 6 and 12 April 2009.


2009 Status Athens Open, Singles entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2009 Status Athens Open, Champions, Men's doubles
Rameez Junaid /  Philipp Marx def. Jesse Huta Galung /  Rui Machado, 6–4, 6–3


2009 Status Athens Open – Doubles
Marc López and Gabriel Trujillo-Soler were the defending champions. Trujillo-Soler chose to not participate this year and López partnered up with Leonardo Azzaro. They lost to Rameez Junaid and Philipp Marx in the second round. Junaid and Marx won in the final 6–4, 6–3, against Jesse Huta Galung and Rui Machado.


2009 Status Athens Open – Singles
Rui Machado defeated Daniel Muñoz-de la Nava in the final 6–3, 7–6(4).


2009 Ster Zeeuwsche Eilanden
The 2009 Rabo Ster Zeeuwsche Eilanden was the 12th edition of the Ster Zeeuwsche Eilanden, a women's cycling stage race in the Netherlands. It was part of the 2009 women's road cycling season. It was rated by the UCI as a category 2.2 race and was held between 20 and 22 June 2009.


2009 Stock Car Brasil season
The 2009 Copa Nextel Stock Car season was the 31st Stock Car Brasil season. It began on March 29 at Interlagos and ended on December 6 at same circuit after twelve rounds.


2009 Stock Car Brasil season
This season introduced a new tubular chassis JL G-09 similar to DTM, replacing the model that was used since 2000. Before the start of the championship, Mitsubishi announced that left the championship. Cacá Bueno won his third championship.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit
The 2009 Strasbourg–Kehl Summit was a NATO summit of heads of state and heads of government held in Strasbourg, France, and in Kehl and Baden-Baden, Germany, on 3–4 April 2009. The summit marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Primarily a celebratory 60th-anniversary event, the agenda included a number of urgent topics commanding the NATO leaders' attention.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit participants, Hosts
To symbolize an evolving vision of European cooperation, for the first time a NATO summit was jointly hosted by two member nations:  French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit participants, Hosts
The formal meetings were chaired by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. This was the last summit for de Hoop Scheffer, whose 61st birthday, coincidentally, came just one day before this 60th-anniversary summit.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit participants, Hosts
Although the first of the significant summit events in Germany was held in Baden-Baden, the town was left off the official logo. This led to protests from local politicians; but the result was a comparatively calm beginning to a summit which also provided the opportunity for dramatic protests on the second day.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit agenda
Details of the agenda were withheld until the last minute.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit agenda
United States President Barack Obama posed a unique quandary as Europeans asked themselves how best to respond to an ally who is sending all the signals they had desired.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit agenda
On Friday, 3 April 2009, the summit's first official event was a working dinner at the Kurhaus, Baden-Baden.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit agenda
The first event on Saturday, 4 April 2009, focused on Chancellor Merkel's welcome to the NATO leaders as they arrived individually in Kehl, Germany. Then, having gathered on the German side of the Rhine River, the NATO Leaders walked together across the Passerelle pedestrian bridge to Strasbourg, France. The NATO leaders were greeted at the French border by President Sarkozy. Meetings were held at the Palais de la musique et des congrès with an arrival ceremony at the Palais Rohan, Strasbourg.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit agenda
On the French side of the Rhine, the 28 national leaders posed for the NATO "family portrait", a tradition at NATO summits. Then the main work began with a working lunch and at other meetings in Strasbourg.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit agenda
In addition, several heads of state, government leaders and other principals were involved in non–summit events which encompassed individual and/or bilateral events on the margins of the formal summit agenda.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit agenda, Issues
After 60 years, NATO found itself on the cusp of a watershed period in the organization's history; and top items on the agenda included:


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit agenda, Issues, Afghanistan war
Some have argued that the most critical issue NATO faces in 2009 arises from Afghanistan. Any NATO discussion about Afghanistan involves developing a comprehensive strategy which brings non-NATO regional powers into a discussion about how best to proceed in short- and longer-term time frames. Although the newly elected Obama continued to enjoy a reservoir of good will, experts anticipated only token gestures of support for any plan which involves increased levels of European troops. In the end, the allies managed to find more reasons for consensus than had been expected, and the increases in the various commitments from the Europeans was a little greater than had been anticipated.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit agenda, Issues, Relations with Russia
Russia's relationships with the West are a perennial NATO concern. Obama summarized his view of the dialogue with Russia about maintaining stability while protecting the autonomy of all countries in Europe: "I think that it is important for NATO allies to engage Russia and to recognize that they have legitimate interests in some cases, we've got common interests, but we also have some core disagreements."


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit agenda, Issues, France's reintegration
France's decision to seek reintegration with the NATO military hierarchy caused all the allies to evaluate the potential ramifications. In 1966, then-President Charles de Gaulle caused France to withdraw from the U.S.-led military command. Sarkozy determined that the time was ripe to change course radically, and the French Parliament backed this decision with a vote of confidence. In time, the NATO allies will adjust fully to this new reality, but this NATO summit was only a beginning in that uncertain process of reconciliation.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit agenda, Issues, New strategic concept
The tumble of events in the past years has made it necessary to re-examine NATO's core strategic concepts. This re-assessment opens up possibilities for change and for plausible "new" strategies and "new" assumptions as well. At this summit, the allied leaders moved forward in a process which is expected to result in a new strategic doctrine which will be formally adopted at next year's summit in Lisbon, Portugal. The updated vision of NATO contemplates a range of expanded responsibilities, including out-of-area operations in Afghanistan and anti-piracy patrols near the Horn of Africa.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit agenda, Issues, New strategic concept
Unresolved questions surrounded all aspects of potential NATO expansion. On 1 April 2009, two days before the summit's first day, Albania and Croatia were accepted as full members of the organization. The President and Prime Minister of each of these newest NATO allies attended the summit. Official flag-raising ceremonies at NATO's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, were planned for 7 April 2009.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Summit agenda, Issues, New strategic concept
Pre -summit speculation about the next NATO Secretary-General focused on five candidates: Bulgaria's former Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Canada's Defense Minister Peter MacKay, and Denmark's Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. In the end, Rasmussen was chosen by consensus.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Protests and security measures
In view of announced protests, French and German authorities announced plans to restrict access to and movement within designated security areas, including parts of Strasbourg and Kehl. These included the requirement that 700 local residents living in a restricted area of Kehl would not be allowed to leave their homes between Friday night and Saturday morning without requesting a police escort. In response, War Resisters International argued that the measures are contrary to the French constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. Following negotiations, protest organizers accused German authorities of stalling tactics.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Protests and security measures
German police estimates anticipated that 25,000 protesters will seek to express themselves during the summit. 15,000 German police were on call for the weekend; and forces were augmented by Bundeswehr support, including interceptor planes, transport helicopters, paramedics, motorcycle escorts, buses and other vehicles. Major demonstrations and protest activities took place on Saturday in France, with 300 protestors arrested. In contrast, Baden-Baden's increased security preparations seemed not to affect an abiding sense of calm in the German resort town.


2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit, Protests and security measures
France temporarily reactivated border controls with neighboring European nations for two weeks in anticipation of the summit. These strict measures were designed to "guarantee security" and minimize terrorism risks during the summit. Special permission was granted to France and Germany to suspend the Schengen Agreement which guarantees free passage for all European Union citizens traveling between EU member states.


2009 Stuttgart Open
The 2009 Mercedes Cup was a man's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 32nd edition of the Stuttgart Open and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2009 ATP World Tour. It was held at the Tennis Club Weissenhof in Stuttgart, Germany, from 11 July 11 until 19 July 2009. Jérémy Chardy won the singles title.


2009 Stuttgart Open, ATP entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw


2009 Stuttgart Open, Finals, Doubles
František Čermák /  Michal Mertiňák defeated  Victor Hănescu /  Horia Tecău, 7–5, 6–4


2009 Stuttgart Open – Doubles
Christopher Kas and Philipp Kohlschreiber were the defending champions, but Kohlschreiber chose not to compete that year. Kas partnered with Mischa Zverev, but lost in the first round to František Čermák and Michal Mertiňák.


2009 Stuttgart Open – Singles
Juan Martín del Potro was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.


2009 Stuttgart Open – Singles
Jérémy Chardy won in the final 1–6, 6–3, 6–4 against Victor Hănescu.


2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500
The 2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500 was the eighth stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was held on April 18, 2009 at Phoenix International Speedway in Avondale, Arizona.


2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500, Background
Phoenix International Raceway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Richmond International Raceway, Dover International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Martinsville Speedway. The standard track at Phoenix International Raceway is a four-turn short track oval that is 1 mile (1.6 km) long. The track's turns were banked at 11 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was banked at three degrees. The back stretch, which has a dogleg shape instead of a straight, has 9 degrees of banking. The racetrack has seats for 76,800 spectators.


2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500, Background
Before the race, Jeff Gordon led the Drivers' Championship with 1,154 points, followed by Jimmie Johnson in second on 992 points. Kurt Busch was in third on 974 points, Clint Bowyer was fourth with 967 points, and Tony Stewart was fifth on 963 points. Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne rounded out the top ten. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 48 points, ten points ahead of their rival Ford in second. Toyota, with 37 points, was six points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third. Johnson was the race's defending champion.


2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500, Qualifying
Martin took the pole at Phoenix with a speed of 133.814 mph, 0.018 seconds in front of second place, Kyle Busch. Kurt Busch took third place 0.23 seconds of the leader and Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers rounded out the top five.


2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500, Race recap
Phoenix International Raceway chaplain Ken Bowers would give out the invocation. Big Machine Records recording artists Kate & Kacey sang the national anthem for this race and future talk show host Michael Strahan delivered the command to start engines 5 minutes after the anthem was sung.


2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500, Race recap
Mark Martin started from the pole and dominated the first one hundred laps of the race, relinquishing the lead only under caution. At this point, the front runners were Martin, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, and Tony Stewart. Those four were consistently in the top five for the first two hundred laps. On lap 167, the caution came out for Robby Gordon's wreck and several cars stayed out. By lap 267, all cars that have stayed out have pitted except Dale Earnhardt, Jr. On lap 300, Earnhardt made slight contact with Casey Mears and hit the wall. Ryan Newman, during this caution, accidentally stayed out of the pits because of having radio problems. He was the only car that didn't pit. On the restart, Martin blew by Newman and cruised to his first win since August 2005.


2009 Sudan Premier League
The 2009 Sudan Premier League is the 38th edition of the highest club level football competition in Sudan. The competition started on 18 February 2009 with a 1–1 draw between Al-Mourada and Merghani Kassala. For the 2009 season, the number of teams has been expanded from 12 to 13 teams. Al-Merreikh are the defending champions.


2009 Sudan Premier League, Standings
The last game of the first round is on Saturday May 16 before the mid-season break, after which the league resumed play with the 14th week/round on July 19.


2009 Sudan airstrikes
In January and February 2009, there was a series of two air strikes in Sudan and one in the Red Sea, allegedly conducted by Israel against Iranian arms being smuggled to the Gaza Strip through Sudan. The Israeli government hinted that Israeli forces were involved in the incident.


2009 Sudan airstrikes, Raid
Amos Harel, military correspondent for the Israeli daily Haaretz, wrote that the decision to strike in Sudan apparently originated in a belief that Iran was about to inject a significant quantity of arms into Gaza, possibly 70-kilometer-range Fajr-3 rockets. A story in The Sunday Times also reported that the trucks were transporting Fajr-3 rockets, which had been brought by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps to the Port Sudan and given to local smugglers. The article also stated that the strike was conducted by unmanned Elbit Hermes 450s. However, TIME reported that the strike was F-16s escorted by F-15s and UAVs. On April 8, Yediot Aharonot, quoting an American source, reported that Israeli naval commando (Shayetet 13) forces were involved in the operation, which included an attack on an Iranian arms ship docking in Sudan.


2009 Sudan airstrikes, Raid
Former IAF commander Eitan Ben-Eliyahu said the main difficulty in such an attack is precise intelligence. Getting to the target requires a flight of about two and a half hours, presumably on a southerly flight path along the Red Sea coast, under the Saudi and Egyptian radar and with aerial refueling.


2009 Sudan airstrikes, Raid
The incident was first mentioned in mass media by CBS News on March 25. On May 26, Sudanese defense minister Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein claimed that the convoy was made up of 1,000 civilians and was involved in "a smuggling process at the border with Egypt". The minister alleged that 119 people were killed; among them were 56 smugglers and 63 smuggled persons from Ethiopian, Somali and other nationalities.


2009 Sudan airstrikes, Further strikes
A land cruiser was struck by a missile in Port Sudan on April 7, 2011. Sudan blamed Israel for the strike, which was reported to have either killed or wounded Abdul Latif Ashkar, Hamas's logistics officer.


2009 Sudan airstrikes, Further strikes
A lengthy article at WRMEA agreed with Sudan about Israel conducting the strike and angrily condemned Israel, but also seemed to undercut Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti's quoted view that Israel conducted the strike to prevent Sudan from being removed from sanctions and isolation related to its previous support for terrorism: a follow-up quote from The Jerusalem Post discussed Iranian arms smuggling to the Gaza Strip, with the article confirming that Hamas was shipping weapons through the Sudan to Hamas, and stated that Israel was attempting to counter Iran's influence in the area (which the article implicitly stated was linked to material support for terrorists).


2009 Sudan airstrikes, Further strikes
Some Sudanese newspapers reported that Israeli aircraft attacked Gaza-bound arms convoys in late 2011.


2009 Sudan airstrikes, Further strikes
Sudan claimed that on October 23, 2012 four Israeli aircraft attacked a munition factory south of Khartoum.


2009 Sudirman Cup
The 2009 Sudirman Cup (World Mixed Team Badminton Championships) was held in the Guangzhou Gymnasium in China from May 10 to May 17, 2009, having been arranged in December 2005. It was the eleventh contest.


2009 Sudirman Cup
Guangzhou has a tradition of staging badminton tournaments (The China Open was held in Guangzhou from 2005 to 2007, Thomas and Uber Cup in 2002 as well). The Sudirman Cup is part of the city's campaign of "hosting a major sporting event every year" in the run up to the 2010 Asian Games, which will be held in the same city.


2009 Sudirman Cup
China defeated Korea to win the title for the seventh time.


2009 Sudirman Cup, Host city selection
Guangzhou is the only bidder for this event and later selected to host the tournament by Badminton World Federation during a council meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Denmark and India also expressed interest in hosting the event.


2009 Suffolk County Council election
Elections to Suffolk County Council were held on 4 June 2009 as part of the 2009 United Kingdom local elections on the same day as the elections to the European Parliament. 75 councillors were elected from 63 electoral divisions, which returned either one or two county councillors each by first-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office. The electoral divisions were the same as those used at the previous election in 2005.


2009 Suffolk County Council election
Labour and the Conservatives were the only parties with candidates standing in all sixty-three electoral divisions. The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party were the only other parties which fielded enough candidates to achieve a majority.


2009 Suffolk County Council election
All locally registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) who were aged 18 or over on Thursday 4 June 2009 were entitled to vote in the local elections. Those who were temporarily away from their ordinary address (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital) were also entitled to vote in the local elections, although those who had moved abroad and registered as overseas electors cannot vote in the local elections.


2009 Suffolk County Council election
It is possible to register to vote at more than one address (such as a university student who had a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) at the discretion of the local Electoral Register Office, but it remains an offence to vote more than once in the same local government election.


2009 Suffolk County Council election, Summary
The Conservatives won the election, being returned to power with 55 seats, a net gain of eleven, while the Liberal Democrats won eleven (a gain of two) and thus replaced Labour as the main opposition party, Labour losing seventeen seats overall and ending with only four. Two Independents were elected, while the Green Party also won two seats and the UK Independence Party won one.


2009 Suffolk County Council election, Summary
The Conservatives became more representative of the county's urban areas, particularly in Waveney and Ipswich, where they took seats from Labour. This contrasted with their performance in 2005 being mainly down to piling up votes in rural divisions. That said, the party lost seats in Bury St Edmunds and also in Mid Suffolk. Despite mounting strong challenges in the divisions lost to the Liberal Democrats in subsequent by-elections, they failed to regain them. The party was heartened by almost tripling their majority to thirty nine seats in comparison to the one of fifteen in 2005.


2009 Suffolk County Council election, Summary
The Liberal Democrats had fought a strong campaign and held all of their divisions and added a further two Councillors to their tally.


2009 Suffolk County Council election, Summary
The smaller parties benefited from the Expenses Scandal hitting the main parties, which saw the Greens and an Independent gain three divisions from the Conservatives, and the UK Independence party taking a seat from Labour.


2009 Suffolk County Council election, Summary
Labour itself was left with a severely reduced tally, and returned to Endeavour House with just four Councillors, all from Ipswich. Of these, two were from the Co-Operative Party.


2009 Suffolk County Council election, Summary
In 2005 the Conservatives had won 42 seats, Labour 22, the Liberal Democrats 7, and one Independent was elected. Subsequent by-elections after this saw the Conservatives gain a seat from Labour, but lose two to the Liberal Democrats.


2009 Suffolk County Council election, Government Formation
Conservative group leader Jeremy Pembroke (Cosford) remained as council leader until April 2011, when Mark Bee (Beccles) succeeded him. Lib Dem leader Kathy Pollard (Belstead Brook) became leader of opposition, and Sandy Martin (St John's) became Labour group leader.


2009 Sugar Bowl
The 2009 Allstate Sugar Bowl was the 75th annual edition of the annual college football bowl game that is part of the 2008–09 bowl season of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The game was played on Friday, January 2, 2009 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana between the Utah Utes, champions of the Mountain West Conference, and the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference.


2009 Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl usually takes the champion of the SEC and pits them against an At-Large BCS team. However, with the 2008 SEC Champion, Florida Gators being selected to play for the national championship game, the Sugar Bowl selected two At-Large BCS teams. The bowl kept their traditional ties with the Southeastern Conference for the second consecutive year though, in selecting the Alabama Crimson Tide with an at-large selection.


2009 Sugar Bowl
In the 2009 edition of this bowl game, the No. 6 Utes pulled off an upset of the heavily favored No. 4 Crimson Tide by a score of 31–17. Utah quarterback Brian Johnson was named Most Outstanding Player of the game. With this win, Utah completed the 2008 season as the only undefeated, 13–0 Division I FBS team in the nation, along with becoming the first team from a BCS non-AQ conference to win two BCS bowls. It was also Utah's first win over a Southeastern Conference school.


2009 Sugar Bowl
Andre Smith (Alabama starting left tackle and 2008 Outland Trophy winner) was suspended for the game because he declined to cooperate with an investigation by the school's compliance staff on the issue with his uncle's illegal contact with a sports agent. A few days later, he declared himself for the NFL Draft and was the 6th overall pick.


2009 Sulawesi superbolide
The 2009 Sulawesi superbolide was an atmospheric fireball blast over Indonesia on October 8, 2009, at approximately 03:00 UTC, near the coastal city of Watampone in South Sulawesi, island of Sulawesi. The meteoritic impactor broke up at an estimated height of 15–20 km. The impact energy of the bolide was estimated in the 10 to 50 kiloton TNT equivalent range, with the higher end of this range being more likely. The likely size of the impactor was 5–10 m diameter.


2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
The 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup was the 18th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. It was held in Ipoh, Malaysia from 5 to 12 April 2009.


2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
India won the tournament for the fourth time by defeating the hosts Malaysia 3–1 in the final.


2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 44 goals scored in 12 matches, for an average of 3.67 goals per match.


2009 Sultan Qaboos Cup
The 2009 Sultan Qaboos Cup was the 37th edition of the Sultan Qaboos Cup (Arabic: كأس السلطان قابوس), the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Oman.


2009 Sultan Qaboos Cup
The competition began on 25 September 2009 with the Round of 32 and concluded on 7 December 2009. Al-Suwaiq Club were the defending champions, having won their first title in 2008. On Monday 7 December 2009, Saham SC were crowned the champions of the 2009 Sultan Qaboos Cup when they defeated Dhofar S.C.S.C. 7–6 on penalties after the match had ended 2-2 after extra time, hence winning the title for the first time.


2009 Sultan Qaboos Cup, Teams
This year the tournament had 32 teams. The winners qualified for the 2010 AFC Cup.


2009 Sultan Qaboos Cup, Round of 32
32 teams played a knockout tie. 16 ties were played over one leg. The first match played was between Dhofar S.C.S.C. and Sur SC on 25 September 2009. 16 teams advanced to the Round of 16.


2009 Sultan Qaboos Cup, Round of 16
16 teams played a knockout tie. 8 ties were played over one leg. The first match was played between Al-Nasr S.C.S.C. and Muscat Club on 1 October 2009. 8 teams advanced to the Quarterfinals.


2009 Sultan Qaboos Cup, Quarterfinals
8 teams played a knockout tie. 4 ties were played over two legs. The first match was played between Al-Oruba SC and Al-Suwaiq Club on 18 October 2009. Al-Suwaiq Club, Saham SC, Dhofar S.C.S.C. and Oman Club qualified for the Semifinals.


2009 Sultan Qaboos Cup, Semifinals
4 teams played a knockout tie. 2 ties were played over two legs. The first match was played between Dhofar S.C.S.C. and Oman Club on 8 November 2009. Saham SC and Dhofar S.C.S.C. qualified for the Finals.