Oesterle Lives With Pain Of Red Wings’ 2009 Cup Loss

Who do you blame for the Detroit Red Wings’ 2009 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup final?

Is it Marc-Andre Fleury? His last-second save on Nicklas Lidstrom prevented the game from going to overtime.

Maybe Max Talbot is the guy. After all, his two goals were the difference in Pittsburgh’s 2-1 victory.

It’s a bitter memory for a lot of Red Wings fans of that era and you can count Jordan Oesterle among them. And he’s certain that he knows the real culprit behind Detroit’s demise that night.

According to Oesterle, it’s none of the above. In his opinion, Detroit lost because Oesterle’s dad Doug opted to take Jordan’s brother Kyle to the game instead of him.

Defenseman Oesterle is among the newest Red Wings after inking a free-agent deal on Wednesday. Growing up in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, he was raised rooting for the Red Wings.

“My dad had season tickets the whole time I was growing up probably until when I went to high school, and we didn’t really have the time,”Oesterle recalled. “I have a lot of fond memories going to those games and seeing those colors.”

Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup final isn’t among them.

“The year Pittsburgh won, I remember very vividly my dad took me to one of the first series games and then decided to take my brother, who never played hockey, to the game where Pittsburgh won it in Detroit,” Oesterle explained.

“I still don’t let him live that down to this day.”