The Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche have been rivals for years, but on May 29, 1996, game six of the NHL Western Conference Finals, the rivalry intensified.
Avalanche forward Claude Lemieux hit Red Wings forward Kris Draper from behind, smashing his head into the boards, breaking his jaw and orbital bone. The Avalanche went on to win that game and win the Stanley Cup.
Fast forward to almost a year later to March 26, 1997. A day that Red Wings fans now know as "Bloody Wednesday," or in some cases, "turtle day."
In the first period, after a hit involving Igor Larionov and Peter Forsberg, Darren McCarty, an enforcer on the Red Wings, went after Lemieux. Lemieux didn't fight back and turtled, falling to the ice.
That hit prompted Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy to skate to center ice, where he was met by Brendan Shanahan and later, Red wings goalie Mike Vernon.
Now, for the first time in almost 20 years, they will meet on the ice again. McCarty, Lemieux, Shanahan, Yzmeran, Forsberg, Roy, Draper, Lidstrom and more.
McCarty was on the Suburban Ford 7 Sports Cave last weekend to preview the game. Will there be a fight between he and Lemieux again? He's not sure, but he knows the game will be fun for everyone.
You can watch the game on Fox Sports Detroit beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 27.
