DETROIT, June 13 (UPI) -- Hockeytown claimed its 10th Stanley Cup championship Thursday night and legendary coach Scotty Bowman won his last.
The Detroit Red Wings, a team built for a title run, captured their third championship in six years with a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, finishing off the Stanley Cup Finals in five games.
It was the ninth title for Bowman, the most for any NHL coach, and immediately after the game he announced his retirement.
"I made up my mind in February this would be my last year," Bowman said. "I'm not an old man, but I felt it is time to go. I'm happy I can go out with a winning team."
Brendan Shanahan scored twice and Dominik Hasek stopped 16 shots as Detroit became the second straight Presidents' Trophy winner to capture the Cup.
One of three key offseason acquisitions on a team that was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last year, Hasek charged out to his own blue line when Shanahan scored into an empty net with 45 seconds left, then was mobbed by teammates at the final buzzer amid a sea of red and white confetti.
It was the first Stanley Cup title for Hasek, who after six Vezina Trophies and two Hart tropies might also be headed for retirement.
"Give me three or four days and I will let you know," the Detroit goaltender said.
Bowman passed his mentor, Toe Blake, and joined basketball's Phil Jackson and Red Auerbach as the only coaches in major professional sports with nine championships. As he did following the Red Wings' second straight Stanley Cup in 1998, Bowman donned skates and joined the post-game, on-ice celebration.
Detroit captain Steve Yzerman, after receiving the Stanley Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, handed it to Bowman so he could skate with it around the ice.
Nicklas Lidstrom, a finalist for his second straight Norris Trophy, became just the eighth defenseman and first European to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the postseason. In addition to scoring the winning goal in Game 2, he logged more than 52 minutes in the Game 3, triple-overtime marathon that turned out to be the decisive contest of the series.
Jeff O'Neill scored the lone goal for the Hurricanes, whose amazing playoff run ended at the hands of a team with at least nine future Hall of Famers in the lineup. Carolina split the first two games of the series in Detroit, but had its spirit broken back home in the Game 3 loss.
The Hurricanes went almost eight periods without a goal before O'Neill halved a 2-0 deficit late in the second period. But Carolina never came to close to getting the equalizer before Shanahan flipped a puck from just inside the center-ice red line into an empty net in the final minute.
Detroit broke through 4:07 into the second period on a spectacular play by Tomas Holmstrom. Defenseman Chris Chelios sent the puck into the right corner, where Game 3 hero Igor Larionov threw a pass into the slot.
Holmstrom was able to get one arm free from the check of Kevyn Adams while breaking toward the net and made a one-handed stab at the puck, deflecting it between the pads of goaltender Arturs Irbe for his first goal of the series and eighth of the playoffs.
Holmstrom had just eight goals in 69 games during the regular season.
Hasek produced the biggest save of the game with 11:51 to go in the second, just 17 seconds after Carolina's first power play expired.
Rod Brind'Amour made a perfect centering pass from behind the net, but Hasek got the tip of his left pad of Bates Battaglia's hard one-timer from just above the crease.
It was more frustration for two members of the Hurricanes' BBC Line, which has not scored a goal at even strength or on the power play since the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Carolina rookie Jaroslav Svoboda got his fist in the face of Detroit's Kris Draper and was penalized for roughing with 6:26 to go in the period. The Red Wings needed just 30 seconds to capitalize as Sergei Fedorov passed out of the right corner to Shanahan, whose one-timer from the faceoff dot appeared to surprise Irbe and sailed over his left shoulder.
Detroit seemed in total control and went on its third power play when Erik Cole received a roughing penalty at 16:15. But Shanahan went off for tripping 38 seconds later and the Hurricanes ended a none-for-20 power-play drought with 70 seconds to go in the period.
O'Neill rifled a slap shot from the top of the left circle that appeared to hit the left post. During a stoppage in play second later, replays showed the puck hit the back of the net before caroming out, and O'Neill was credited with his eighth playoff goal.
It ended the second-longest shutout streak in Stanley Cup Finals history at 166 minutes, 3 seconds. Toronto's Frank McCool went more than 188 1/2 minutes in 1945 without allowing a goal.
The Red Wings dominated a scoreless first period, outshooting the Hurricanes, 12-5. They had three solid chances to grab an early lead but came up empty as defenseman Fredrik Olausson wristed a shot from the right faceoff dot that hit Irbe and trickled just wide of the right goalpost.
The rebound came out to the low slot to Luc Robitaille, who put a shot off the left goalpost just over 5 1/2 minutes into the game.
