The Red Wings are able to shake their sudden finals collapse and win the regular season title by finishing with a solid 25-14-11 record. In the semifinals the Red Wings would exercises the ghost of their Finals collapse by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in 6 games. In the Finals the Red Wings would not let another Stanley Cup slip away sweeping the Boston Bruins in 4 straight as goalie Johnny Mowers blanked the Bruins in the final 2 games at the Boston Gardens. With Ted Lindsay, Sid Abel, and Gordie Howe finishing in the top 3 in scoring the Red Wings continued soaring winning the regular season title with a 37-19-14 record. The playoffs would get off to a disastrous start as the Red Wings lost Game 1 of the semifinals to the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-0, while losing Gordie Howe to a serious head injury he suffered sliding head first into the boards. The Wings would recover and would win the series in 7 games winning the last games on shutouts including a 1-0 overtime win in Game 7. In the finals the Red Wings found themselves down again after 5 games, but playing the entire playoffs on the road caught up to the New York Rangers as the Wings forced Game 7 with a 5-4 win. In Game 7 the Wings would go into overtime again before Pete Babando won the cup 8:31 into double overtime.  By scoring 47 goals Gordie Howe captures his first Hart Trophy as the Red Wings continue to dominate the regular season inning their 4th league title in a row with a 44-14-12 record. In the playoffs the Wings started flying right away as goalie Terry Sawchuk blanked the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the semifinals 3-0. Following the game a few fans had the idea of throwing an octopus on the ice being that it had 8 arms and to win the Stanley Cup you need to win 8 games. The Wings would go on to sweep the series in 4 straight as the octopus tossing began to catch on. In the finals the Wings won the first 2 games on the road in Montreal and came home where Terry Sawchuk blanked the Canadiens with twin 3-0 scores to complete the sweep. With the Red Wings winning 8 straight they became the first team to sweep through the playoffs ensuring the octopi tossing would become a tradition for years to come. The Red Wings continue to dominate the NHL winning their 7th straight league title by holding off the Montreal Canadiens with a 42-17-11 record. In the playoffs the Wings would stay red hit as the swept away the Toronto Maple Leafs in 4 straight. In a rematch with Montreal Canadiens the Red Wings and Habs each won high scoring games on their own home ice setting up a 7th game at Olympia Stadium. In game 7 the Wings would keep the home fire burning as they knocked off the Canadiens to win their 2nd straight Stanley Cop with a 3-1 record. In the finals Gordie Howe was the star scoring 12 points to set a new Finals record.  After 2 straight President's Trophies the Red Wings finish in 2nd place in the Central Division with a 38-26-18 record. In the first round the Wings would beat the St. Louis Blues in 6 games. The Red Wings would pick up a full head of steam in the 2nd round sweeping the Anaheim Mighty Ducks as Mike Vernon established himself as the hot goalie. In a reversal of last year's Conference Finals the Red Wings take the first 2 games from the Avalanche in Colorado and would go on to win the series in 6 games. In the finals the Red Wings took command early beating the Flyers in the first 2 games in Philadelphia. As the series shifted back to Hockey Town USA the Wings went in for the kill completing the sweep to win their first Stanley Cup in 42 years. While Goalie Mike Vernon who out played Chris Osgood, to end the rotating goalie tandem was rewarded with Conn Smythe award for Playoff MVP. However the celebration would be short lived as star defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov are critically injured in a one-vehicle limousine accident following a team party. The limo driver was stoned on pot when he crashed the limo, but he would never face serious charges. Konstantinov would remain in a coma for months when he emerged he was left severely brain damaged, as was Mnatsakanov. Dedicating the entire season to Vladimir Konstantinov and Sergei Mnatsakanov the Red Wings put together another solid season finishing 2nd place with a 44-23-15 record. With Mike Vernon traded before the season the Red Wings turned to Chris Osgood who played shaky in previous playoff tests. In the first round he showed a little of his shakiness as the Red Wings needed 6 games to knock off the Phoenix Coyotes. In the 2nd round Osgood played stronger as the Wings beat the ST. Louis Blues in 6 games. Facing the Dallas Stars who won the Presidents Trophy the Wings landed in the Stanley Cup Finals for the 2nd straight season as they knocked off the Stars in 6 games. With wheelchair ridden Vladimir Konstantinov and masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov on hand the Red Wings turned it up a notch crushing the Washington Capitals in 4 straight to win their 2nd straight Stanley Cup. Longtime fan favorite Steve Yzerman would be presented with the Conn Smythe. Also serving as Captain Stevie Y. when presented with Stanley Cup skated over and placed it in Konstantinov's lap as the entire team joined in for an emotional scene that touched fans throughout the sports world. After falling in the 1st Round the Red Wings retooled adding future Hall of Famers, Luc Robitalle, Brett Hull, and Dominick Hasek to a team already laden with future Hall of Famers. The Red Wings would get off to a fast start and would never look back easily establishing the best record in the NHL by the Olympic Break. After the Olympics the Wings put it to cruise control allowing injured players to rest up as they won the President's Trophy with a 51-17-10-4 record. However, in the playoffs the Wings remained in cruise control as they lost their fist 2 games to the Vancouver Canucks. However, in Game 3 Nicklas Lidstrom slap shot from center ice gave the Wings a lead and turned the entire series around; as the Wings went on to win in 6 games. In the 2nd Round the Wings really got rolling beating the St. Louis Blues in 5 games. In the Conference Finals the Wings found themselves in trouble again trailing the Colorado Avalanche 3 games to 2. Facing elimination the Wings would rally to win Game 6 on the road. IN Game 7 the Red Wings buried Colorado in Avalanche of goals winning 7-0 to advance to their 3rd finals in 5 years. In the Finals the Wings would suffer a setback losing Game 1 to Carolina Hurricanes in overtime. However, the Wings would shake it off and would win the next 4 games to win the Stanley Cup. Nicklas Lidstrom whose goal got the Wings started was named Conn Smythe, as legendary Coach Scotty Bowman retired during the on ice celebration. Following the season Goalie Dominick Hasek would also retire, but the Red Wings would quickly sign Curtis Joseph to replace him keeping them as the team to beat for the Stanley Cup.