Fight Night at the Joe was one of the most unforgettable moments of the Detroit Red Wings rivalry with the Colorado Avalanche during the mid-to-late 1990s. Both teams had gone at it in the playoffs the previous season, with the Wings coming off on the losing end.
In 1996-97, everyone in Hockeytown knew that if the Wings wanted to finally hoist the Stanley Cup, they had to go through the Avs, a team that won it all to cap off their very first season in Denver following a recent move from Quebec City.
The Wings didn't just end up on the losing end of that series; the residual effects of Claude Lemieux "shattering Kris Draper's jaw" was still fresh in everyone's mind. Both the fans and everyone wearing the winged wheel wanted to avenge that.
So, on March 26th, 1997, it looked like the Wings were destined to be second fiddle in the Western Conference to the Avalanche, having lost three games against them that season leading into the contest. The Wings were just looking for a reason to get some revenge, even if chances were good that the Avs would keep upending them.
Then fighting broke out between the Red Wings and Avs that made history
This game saw nine different fights, with Igor Larionov and Peter Forsberg kicking off the main event. But let's be real: It wasn't much of a fight and you really can't even call it a fight. I mean, the official game card marked them both with two minutes apiece for roughing.
Things escalated fast, though, with Darren McCarty crossing Lemieux, looking him straight in the eyes, rearing back, and firing a punch to the jaw. If that wasn't revenge, then I don't know what is, because McCarty dropped Lemieux to the delight of those cheering on the Wings at the Joe.
Patrick Roy saw what was going on and, contrary to what you should do if you're a star player and let someone else handle it, he beelined to where McCarty was raining punches on Lemieux and jumped in.
But Brendan Shanahan wasn't having it as he was there to meet Roy, which ultimately led to Roy squaring off with Red Wings goaltender Mike Vernon. More fighting took place afterward and, it made what was a regular season contest one of the most unforgettable in league history.
But the Red Wings had to get the last laugh in this one, right?
Oh, don't worry, because if ths is all new to you, the game itself was also intense on the scoreboard, since the Wings and Avs were in such a deadlock that they needed more than 60 minutes to sort this one out.
And, as fate would have it, who do you think scored the game-winner here? Come on, take a guess, who do you think it was? If you said 'Darren McCarty,' you got some brownie points, because yes, it was McCarty of all players finishing this game with helpers from Shanahan and Larionov and sending the Wings and their fans home with the win.
Now, do you know what's even funnier? Yeah, the Wings ended up facing (and beating) the Avs in the Conference Final that year, in part thanks to a heroic or two from Steve Yzerman. Then, they ended that long Stanley Cup drought against the Philadelphia Flyers, winning 4 games to 0.
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