Ted Kulfan

The Detroit News

Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News remembers the top 15 Red Wings moments at Joe Louis Arena.

1) March 26, 1997: Really, all you have to do is mention this date to a Detroit sports fan. The Red Wings’ rivalry with the Colorado Avalanche was taken to incredible lengths with this fight-filled, brawl-laden hockey game that ended when Darren McCarty scored the overtime-winner – after he pummeled Claude Lemieux earlier in the game.

2) June 7, 1997: If you were at Joe Louis Arena that evening, you’ll never forget the sheer, pure outpouring of joy after the Red Wings defeated the Philadelphia Flyers and brought Detroit its first Stanley Cup in 42 years. When Steve Yzerman raised the Cup, the noise was deafening.

3) May 31, 2002: This remains one of the most improbable and unexpected outcomes inside Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings and Colorado were supposed to stage a classic Game 7 in the Western Conference finals. Instead, the Wings drove goaltender Patrick Roy out of the game, scoring six goals in two periods in a 7-0 rout. The crowd noise as Roy was skating off the ice was unforgettable.

4) June 13, 2002: Arguably the greatest team ever assembled won the Stanley Cup on home ice, as the Red Wings defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 in Game 5 of the series. Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, who coached nine future Hall of Famers on this team, retired after the game.

5) May 16, 1996: This was among Steve Yzerman’s most important goals ever. Yzerman scored in double overtime of Game 7, giving the Red Wings a 1-0 victory over St. Louis in the Western Conference semifinals. The Red Wings had won 62 games in the regular season and reached the Stanley Cup Finals the year before. Had they lost the game and series, there’s a chance the roster would’ve undergone dramatic change in the offseason.

6) Nov. 21, 2005: One of the scariest evenings ever at Joe Louis Arena. Defenseman Jiri Fischer collapsed on the bench as the Red Wings were playing the Nashville Predators. Fischer went into cardiac arrest, suspending the game and leaving the sell-out arena in hushed silence. Fischer was revived by the Wings’ medical staff after several minutes but was forced to retire at the age of 25.

7) Oct. 8, 1997: The Red Wings raised the banner for their Stanley Cup victory the previous spring, but the evening wasn’t as joyful as it should’ve been. Vladimir Konstantinov and Sergei Mnatsakanov – who were severely hurt in a limousine accident just days after the Stanley Cup victory – weren’t there to celebrate. The Red Wings remembered their friends by wearing “Believe” patches all season – and ultimately won a second consecutive Stanley Cup.

8) Oct. 16, 1998: The Red Wings raised their second consecutive Stanley Cup-winning banner – they are the last team to win two consecutive Cups – but the best scene of the evening was Sergei Fedorov pushing teammate Vladimir Konstantinov in a wheelchair onto the ice for the banner-raising ceremony.

9) Jan. 2, 2007: Steve Yzerman, one of the greatest Red Wings and a Hall of Famer, had his No. 19 raised to the rafters of Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings defeated the league-leading Anaheim Ducks 2-1.

10) March 6, 2014: Nicklas Lidstrom, another of the greatest Red Wings and a Hall of Famer, had his No. 5 raised to the rafters. Lidstrom’s banner-raising was delayed, as the NHL had a lockout-shortened season after Lidstrom retired in the spring of 2012.

11) Feb. 15, 2017: Fans and players paid tribute to owner Mike Ilitch, who died Feb. 10. It was Ilitch whose ownership ignited the Red Wings into one of the most successful pro sports franchises in North America.

12) Feb. 5, 1980: The past and the present. Aging legend and young legend. Gordie Howe was then 52 and Wayne Gretzky was 19, and both were on the ice at the same time at the 32nd NHL All-Star Game at JLA. Howe’s Wales Conference team won the game, with Howe assisting on a goal.

13) June 14, 2016: An estimated 15,000 fans went through Joe Louis Arena in a public visitation for Gordie Howe, who died June 10. The outpouring of emotion won’t be forgotten for Mr. Hockey, one of the most popular sports figures ever in Detroit.

14) April 1, 1998: Almost a year after the huge Red Wings-Avalanche brawl, the two teams nearly matched the full-scale riot with the highlight being goaltenders Chris Osgood and Patrick Roy fighting near center ice. One of the more underrated moments in recent Red Wings history.

15) Dec. 26, 1996: Still one of the most memorable individual accomplishments ever, as Sergei Fedorov scored all five goals in a 5-4 overtime victory over Washington. Only two other players – Red Wings forward Johan Franzen (2011) and Minnesota’s Marian Gaborik (2007) – have accomplished the feat since Fedorov (although it has occurred 60 times in NHL history).