Is one of the greatest former hockey rivalries on the rise again?
The two teams once shared bad blood, literally.
After the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver becoming what we know as the Colorado Avalanche, the rivalry between the new Mile High franchise and the Detroit Red Wings commenced quickly following an incident during the 1996 Western Conference Finals.
Avs right winger Claude Lemieux hit Red Wings center Kris Draper from behind smashing his face into the boards. He left the game and was sent to the hospital with a broken jaw, a shattered cheek and orbital bone that took extensive surgery.
To make matters even worse, the Avalanche went on to upset Detroit in six games and eventually take home the 1995-96 Stanley Cup.
On March 26, 1997, everything changed for the two clubs after what is known as Bloody Wednesday, Fight Night at the Joe and the Brawl in Hockeytown.
The teams had faced each other three times prior without incident; however, everything changed that night in the Joe Lewis Arena when nine fights broke out including a blindsided beat down from Red Wings enforcer and linemate of Kris Draper, Darren McCarty on Claude Lemieux and a goalie fight between Avs goalie Patrick Roy and Red Wings goalie Mike Vernon.
Fast forward to today, the Avalanche and the Red Wings are facing off again for the first time since the on-ice scrap between Todd Bertuzzi's nephew, Tyler Bertuzzi and the Avs' Matt Calvert.
Although the rivalry isn't anywhere close to what it once was, it's fun to take a trip down memory lane and wait and see if drama will ensue.
