10 Best Rivalries in Detroit Sports History
By Zac Snyder
Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche
The Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche entered the 1995-1996 Stanley Cup playoffs as the top two seeds in the Western Conference but would end as so much more. The Red Wings cruised to the President’s Trophy in the regular season and were looking to finish off the Stanley Cup Championship that eluded them the year before. They couldn’t overcome a rough start to their conference finals series against the Colorado Avalanche, ultimately bowing out in a game six loss that became the catalyst for the rivalry that ensued.
The horrific image of a dirty hit by Claude Lemiuex that sent Kris Draper flying face-first into the boards will be forever ingrained in the minds of Red Wings fans of that era. No longer were these just two very good teams battling for NHL supremacy.
To make matters worse in Detroit, the Avalanche would go on to win the Stanley Cup. Then came March 26, 1997.
The Red Wings got some revenge with their fists but it wouldn’t have counted for much without what came exactly three months later. On May 27, 1997, the Red Wings defeated the Avalanche in game six of the Western Conference finals on their way to winning the Stanley Cup.
Rivalries seem to come and go these days but what makes the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry special is that both teams had staying power among the game’s elite. For the seven-season period from 1996-2002, the two teams combined for five Stanley Cups with one team knocking the other out of the playoffs three times.
The rivalry may have began with the Avalanche bloodying Draper and eliminating the Red Wings from the playoffs but it arguably ended with the Red Wings getting the last laugh. A trip to the Stanley Cup Finals was again on the line in 2002 with the series coming down to a winner-take-all game seven in Detroit.
The game should have been high drama but was anything but as it took less than two minutes for the Red Wings to grab a lead. Less than two minutes after that, it was 2-0. It was 4-0 after the first period and ultimately a 7-0 win in a game Patrick Roy did not finish.
Next: Craziest Moments in Detroit Sports History
The Red Wings and Avalanche were both upset in the first round of the 2003 playoffs and the teams have only met once more in the playoff since – a 2008 sweep in a series dominated by the Red Wings.