Game one Game 1 in Philadelphia took place exactly ten years to the day after the Flyers' emotional seventh-game loss to the
Edmonton Oilers in the
1987 Finals. Detroit never trailed in the game: they led 2–1 after the first period, 3–2 after the second, and
Steve Yzerman scored the fourth goal 56 seconds into the third period.
Sergei Fedorov scored the winner and was named the game's first star.
Game two Brendan Shanahan scored an unassisted goal 1:37 into the game and
Steve Yzerman scored a power-play goal at 9:22 of the first period to give the Red Wings a 2–0 lead before
Rod Brind'Amour scored a pair of power-play goals late in the first period to tie the score. In the second,
Kirk Maltby scored the game-winning goal at 2:39 and Shanahan scored his second goal of the game at 9:56 of the third and the Red Wings won a second consecutive 4–2 victory and a 2–0 series lead heading back to
Joe Louis Arena.
Game three John LeClair scored at 7:03 of the first period to give the Flyers their first lead of the series. Two minutes later, Yzerman scored on the power-play to tie the score. Fedorov scored two minutes later to put Detroit ahead for good in the game.
Martin Lapointe scored later in the first to give the Wings a 3–1 advantage. The Wings tacked on two more in the second and added one in the third for a decisive 6–1 win and a three-games-to-none series advantage. For his four-point night, Fedorov was named the game's first star. In his post-game comments, Flyers head coach
Terry Murray was quoted as saying the team was "basically in a choking situation," which many observers interpreted as Murray having called out his own players as chokers. The manner in which they played compounded by the insurmountable series deficit along with the Wings' seeming dominance in stretches of the first two games as well as most of game three lent credence to the claim.
Game four The Red Wings controlled the game from the get-go, forging ahead 1–0 after one period and employing the left-wing lock to keep the Flyers' mix of big and speedy forwards at bay.
Darren McCarty's second-period tally effectively sealed the deal. The burly checker faked out Flyers rookie defenceman
Janne Niinimaa inside the blue line, swooped around him, then did a quick cutback in front of Hextall in his crease to slip the puck into the net.
Eric Lindros would score his lone goal of the series with 15 seconds to play. The 2–1 win brought Detroit its eighth Stanley Cup, and its first in 42 seasons, ending what was the longest Stanley Cup drought in the league at that time.
Sergei Fedorov led the Wings in playoff scoring with 20 points. Detroit goaltender
Mike Vernon, who had been in net for the whole of the Wings' failed 1995 playoff run, and relegated to the bench the year before, earned vindication and his first
Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP by holding Philadelphia to six goals in four games. ==Team rosters==