27th Anniversary of “Fight Night at The Joe”
Today marks the 27th anniversary of what became known as Fight Night at The Joe.
I was in Middle School at the time and remember it well. Darren McCarty making Lemieux turtle like a coward and then Vernon going toe-to-toe with Roy are etched in my memory. This was payback for when Lemieux checked Draper from behind into the boards in the WCF the year before (which would be a penalty now for boarding) and F’d up his face (pretty sure fractured his orbital and broke his jaw). The rivalry was already the hottest in the league and this took it to its ultimate fever pitch. There was no going back after this night. It was war every time they played for the next several years.
March 26th, 2024 at 11:49 AM ^
I know a lot of folks point to THAT game as the key to the Wings' 1997 Stanley Cup run.
I'll disagree though. It's a bit forgotten: but in the Western Conference Finals, the Avs won Game 1 and led 2-0 late in the 2nd Period of Game 2.
It certainly felt like "oh, here we go again. Sure, Darren beat up Claude a few months ago, but what's the point? We're about to be down 2-0 to the Avs: that will now be 6 losses in 8 playoff games over the last 2 years. We're not getting it done at crunch time, when it really counts."
Igor got one late in the 2nd. Then Yzerman had a 3rd period where he was basically Mark Messier in Game 6 against the Devils 3 years prior --- he only scored 1 goal instead of 3, but it was a dominant effort goal to tie it then he had an assist on the game-winner. The Wings went 7-1 the rest of the way, winning the Cup.
THAT was the game & moment (IMO) where the Wings won the Cup in 1997. Not to minimize March 26, 1997 ..... it was memorable in tis own right. But if not for Game 2 in Denver and Yzerman being the hero that night, it's a mere footnote in history.
March 26th, 2024 at 11:58 AM ^
I remember being at JoeVision for Game 2 and felt exactly how you stated and how amazing it felt to come back and win that game. Marc Crawford even referenced how nervous he got when Scotty Bowman slapped his hand on the door walking off the bench to the ice like we got what we came for.
However, I still think you had to have the regular season win to get that first monkey off your back.
Well every win was important, of course. But on 3/26/97, we proved that we weren't afraid of them and would not be bullied by them anymore. Without March 26, not so sure we win the Cup.
I have to disagree with my esteemed colleague here. The moment they won the cup was October 9,1996. That's the day they picked up Shanahan from the Whalers.
Shanahan was a force, you are correct. It'll never not be funny that he eventually became the NHL director of player safety.
March 26th, 2024 at 11:37 PM ^
I remember where I was for both 3/26/97 and G2 WCF G2. Both were the same feeling.
March 26th, 2024 at 11:53 AM ^
This game to me was one of the most impactful in Detroit sports history. After winning the Presidents Trophy in 95 and 96, the Wings fell back a little back in fact not even winning their division. They were 0-3 against the Avalanche heading into that game and matters with Lemieux had not been settled (I think he missed the first 2 games).
What transpired in that game in that crazy sequence with Roy, Forsberg, and Lemieux all being bloodied and McCarty not getting thrown out of the game to score the game winner in OT lead to the Wings winning the Cup that year and future success. The acquisition of Shanny at the start of the year was the missing piece they needed.
The ESPN documentary titled Unrivaled is a great watch for those who haven't see it. The ESPN+ version is a little longer than what aired.
March 26th, 2024 at 11:42 PM ^
No doubt.
March 26th, 2024 at 11:53 AM ^
I watched that game at an absolutely raucous bar in Royal Oak. It was nuts. Mike Vernon pummeling Patty Roy. The crowd at the game, and in the bar, absolutely losing their minds. Maybe my greatest hockey memory. Only things close would be the 1980 Olympic win over the Russians and the 1997 Stanley Cup winning game against Philadelphia.
Aside: a different Avalanche memory...Marc Crawford losing his shit behind the bench and screaming at Scotty Bowman, who was wearing the classic Scotty smirk. Seems Scotty told Crawford that he knew Marc's father and he would be embarrassed by his behavior. Scotty was a world class shit disturber.
That Crawford/Bowman yelling incident in Game 4 ---- man, Crawford was an undisciplined coach.
I get it, he was mad about Shanahan beating up Rene Corbet (who admittedly did take a slight run at Mike Vernon a few minutes before), and Shanahan slamming Corbet's head into the ice in said fight. And honestly, Martin LaPointe was the one who should have fought Corbet there anyway.
But Crawford turned around and handled that in one of the more disgraceful ways possible.
Years later, the whole Todd Bertuzzi/Steve Moore incident. Crawford had a degree of culpabiltiy there.
Net: Crawford was a jack-ass.
March 26th, 2024 at 11:54 AM ^
I don't even really follow hockey but if you were a SE Michigan resident during the late 90's you hated the Avalanche more than anything else on the planet.
March 26th, 2024 at 11:58 AM ^
Well...no. That hatred status is reserved for Ohio State. But the Avs made an excellent run at it.
Try being a Detroit transplant to the Front Range of CO (yes, username checks out - established on another message board while I was out there). Denver sports fans may be the worst I have ever experienced in pro sports in terms of obnoxiousness. I had janitors trashing my office at work during the playoff series in 2002.
March 26th, 2024 at 11:54 AM ^
I remember watching that game.
Going in to the game, everyone just knew that McCarty was going to go after Lemieux.
March 26th, 2024 at 12:21 PM ^
The buzz in the week leading up was like nothing I have experienced. Everyone knew it had to be that day or never.
March 26th, 2024 at 12:02 PM ^
Man, 27 years! I know I'm old but wow this is a reminder. I didn't grow up in Michigan - but Red Wings-Avs was known as one of the premier hockey rivalries for kids my age. Sorta like Niners-Cowboys. Both those faded when I was in college in the '00s. Now, I wonder if college kids today looks at those pro rivalries the way I looked at Celtics-Lakers - I used to think, "how much of a rivalry can this really be anymore? Maybe it once was but now..."
I recently made an old man comment on a post about realignment. I still hate realignment. But damn, this post just made me realize how old I am. There are 26 year olds right now who think Wings-Avs is as relevant as ND-Miami or the St Louis Rams and the Greatest Show on Turf.
March 26th, 2024 at 12:26 PM ^
I hear that. I have 2 people working for me that were born after this happened.
March 26th, 2024 at 12:10 PM ^
Loved seeing Parrick Roy beaten down.
March 26th, 2024 at 12:20 PM ^
While I generally agree with the sentiment, his statue of liberty goal allowed is still the greatest Roy moment for me
March 26th, 2024 at 12:23 PM ^
I still prefer the 6-spot we put on him in the ‘02 WCF Game 7.
I remember him breaking his stick in frustration when he was pulled. As I recall, didn't he retire very shortly after that game?
that was so much fun to watch. thank you for posting. i remember i was in my office, still living out west, and had the TV pulled up to my door with a long extension cord so that i could watch and 'work'. what a game.
The goal counts! The goal counts!
I was traveling cross country at that time, stopped in Denver that night and watched Game 6 from a Motel 6 not terribly far from the Pepsi Center. Fun night.
When Roy was traded to the Avalanche and afterwards was such an obstacle to the Wings' success, I almost regretted that it was the Red Wings' own fault, since it was they who bombed him out of Montreal by scoring 9 goals on him.
Almost.
March 26th, 2024 at 12:18 PM ^
We're talking about a fight from a regular season game 27 years ago. That's how important it was for the Red Wings.
Important... and entertaining!
March 26th, 2024 at 12:20 PM ^
What a night that was for McCarty. Not only did he get to pummel Lemieux he also netted the game winner in OT
mccarty looks 1,000 yrs old in that picture. he was doing some 'living' in his younger years. everybody says he was a champ off the ice. so talented as a fighter and a scorer, a lot like probert.
March 26th, 2024 at 12:39 PM ^
I definitely remember watching the game and just looked at the box score to refresh my memory. The Wings were trailing 4-2 with less than 1:00 left in the 2nd. Lidstrom scored on the PP to cut the lead to 4-3.
The "big fight" took place in the 1st at 18:22. Shanny and Foote dropped the gloves 0:04 into the 2nd......and the fighting continued throughout the period.
McCarty scored the game winner 0:39 into OT
That was definitely the best regular season hockey game ever!
As much as I hated the Avs and everyone on that team, I loved Adam Foote. Big, HUGE, tough, badass defenseman. That's the one guy I would have taken on my team from the Avs.
March 26th, 2024 at 12:46 PM ^
So many epic moments between the Wings and Avs. I was a Detroit Tigers game the night the Wings scored something like 7 goals against the Avs in the playoffs. This was after the big fights in the 90s. Roy was showboating making a stop on a slap shot and held his glove up to rub it in and he dropped the puck and it went into the net. Everyone was watching the game on the Tigers jumbotron. The news crews were interviewing fans following the game on their portable radios.
Of course, Roy never ends up in Colorado unless he lets up those 9 goals when he was with Montreal. If memory serves, the coach was pissed at him and left him in. He then refused to play for them again.
Yeah, I think he told the team president who was sitting behind the bench when he came off the ice, “I’m done.”
That might have been the game in Montreal in 1995 when the coach left Roy on the ice until the Wings were up 9-1. They finally pulled him at that point. I don't think that Roy played for the Canadiens after that and he soon ended up in Colorado.
I think that the other beat down of Roy came in the 2002 playoffs. The Wings won Game 7 of the Conference Finals 7-0.
The rumor back then was that a little kid with a Wings jersey - maybe 7 or 8 - behind the net kept calling Roy over during warmups through the hole in the glass. The kid was persistent and Roy eventually obliged. When Roy bent over to talk to the kid through the glass, the kid screamed "Fuck you!!" right to his face and it visibly shook Roy up. He proceeded to give up a goal in the first 2 minutes, a second before the 4 minute mark, and 4 total in the first period. That kid was a hero on sports talk radio in Detroit for a week.
And that kid grew up to be--you guessed it--Frank Stallone.
Or so the Germans would have us believe
I hope the team today can channel that energy for a run to the end of the season. Stevie Y has the team going in the right direction, but make an appearance in the Cup finals this year or not, they need a playoff series to get some seasoning. Absolutely crucial.
My first NHL game was January 25, 1951, the Wings versus the Bruins at the Olympia. I witnessed one of the most intense fights ever. Ted Lindsay and Bill Ezenicki engaged in stick swinging, fisticuffs and head on ice banging. Both were suspended by the league. I have to say that "Fight Night at the Joe" comes close to that game.
Wow! You are almost as old as Igor Larionov was when he retired from the Wings.
His uniform number matches the first digit of my age.
From the Toronto Globe and Mail obit about Lindsay:
Here's the article in full (paywalled):
Thanks for posting the link to the Globe and Mail obit, Don. Lindsay truly was one of a kind.
i've said it before, but the last time i saw your avatar was at the pizzarena. he and my dad (and gordie) were buddies from way back. i told him that dad had passed a few months prior and we had a nice chat. dad always called lindsay 'scarface' for obvious reasons. pound-for-pound one of the toughest guys to ever play the game.
I still savor that ass whoopin'
Watched the game with a good friend at the old Banfield's on the west side of A2. The entire bar was watching the game and the place erupted in a frenzy when the fisticuffs started, especially when Vernon and Roy went at it. Without a doubt the craziest thing I've ever watched in sports.
Not sure how well it came through on TV, but when Shanny and Roy literally leaped at each other when they got to center ice, that was mind-blowing. It so almost looked staged (though obviously was not) that the entire situation seemed to have gone completely haywire at that point.