In honor of the final season match-up between the Colorado Avalanche and the Detroit Red Wings, Friday night at the Pepsi Center, lets look back on the history of this heated NHL rivalry.
Many Colorado Avalanche fans learn to dislike the Red Wings, but do they even know the true roots to this rivalry?
Not many players still remain from the original era of the rivalry (1990-2000), but the tension between these two teams is steal clearly prominent during their match-ups.
There are many things that have factored and fueled this rivalry, though the heart of it stems from the 1996 Western Conference Finals. Let's look at a progressive timeline that clearly lays out the growth of the rivalry:
1996:
May 23, 1996
It's game three of the Western Conference Championships between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche, at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver. The game quickly changed when Colorado defensmen, Adam Foote, got slammed into the boards by Red Wings forward, Slava Kozlov. The check resulted in a gashing wound, requiring 20 stitches. None of the referees saw the hit, and Kozlov served no penalty for the hit. Colorado forward Claude Lemieux avenged Foote when he served a well-deserved minor roughing penalty, for punching Koslov square in the face. According to NHL.com, Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman, was so fueled after the game that he shouted obscenities to Lemieux and his family in the parking lot after the game.
To see Kozlov's check on Foote click here
May 26, 1996
It is now game six of the Western Conference Championships, also at McNichols Sports Arena. Colorado Avalanche forward, Claude Lemieux, checks Kris Draper in to the boards right in front of the Red Wings bench. Lemieux came from behind to make the check. The hit sent Draper out of the game, and resulted in a broken jaw for Draper. As many Colorado Avalanche fans know, the Avs won the series against the Red Wings, and went on to win the Stanley Cup against the Florida Panthers in 1996.
To see Lemieux's hit on Draper click here
1997:
Fuel from 1996 spurred some crazy match-ups between the two in the following season but nothing will compare to Bloody Wednesday, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
March 26, 1997
Detroit's Darren McCarty goes after Claude Lemieux, late in the first period, and completely blindsides him. What results, according to NHL.com, is one of the biggest brawls resulting in a total of 18 fighting majors. This brawl included the most memorable fight between Avalanche goalie, Patrick Roy, and Detroit Red Wings goalie, Mike Vernon.
To see the Brawl in Hockey Town click here
1998:
There are too many fights to count in the seasons following the original 1996 incident, but another major moment in this rivalry occurs in the 1998 season.
April 1, 1998
A total of 228 penalty minutes were called in the match-up at Joe Louis Arena. The most notable fight of the night being the brawl between goalies Patrick Roy and Chris Osgood.
To see the Patrick Roy v. Chris Osgood center ice fight click here
Since 2000:
The heated rivalry has seemed to start cooling down, but when Detroit picked up Todd Bertuzzi from the Vancouver Canucks another spark ignited.
When Bertuzzi was on the Vancouver Canuck, he hit Steve Moore in the head from behind. This brutal blow ended up fracturing vertebrae in Moore's neck, immediately knocking him unconscious. Steve Moore's career in the NHL was over at the young age of 25. Moore, to this day, still suffers difficulties of the brain damage he recieved from this hit. Bertuzzi was only suspended for 17 months; most of that suspension being served during the 2004-2005 lockout.
To see Todd Bertuzzi's hit on Steve Moore click here
While the history of this heated rivalry is a long and brawl-filled one, true Colorado Avalanche fans should learn what lead to it before dawning their "Red Wings Suck" t-shirt.
Sources:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=518769
http://www.realclearsports.com/lists/top_10_playoff_rivalries/red_wings_avalanche.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=frei_terry&id=3364213
http://espn.go.com/espn/commentary/story/_/page/munson-120315/todd-bertuzzi-hit-steve-moore-2004-cautionary-tale-new-orleans-saints-bounties
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