Unrivaled (E:60)
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| Unrivaled | |
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| Directed by | Jeremy Schaap |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production company(s) | ESPN Films |
| Release | |
| Original release |
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| External links | |
| [{{#property:P856}} Website] | |
Search Unrivaled (E:60) on Amazon.
Unrivaled is an upcoming ESPN E:60 program about the Avalanche–Red Wings rivalry, most notably about the March 26, 1997 brawl between the two teams at Joe Louis Arena. Unrivaled will feature interviews from many players and coaches who were involved in the March 26, 1997 brawl between the two teams including Colorado Avalanche wing Claude Lemieux who was at the center of this rivalry, Detroit Red Wings center Kris Draper who was seriously injured after getting checked from behind by Lemieux in the 1996 Western Conference Finals, and Red Wings wing Darren McCarty who sought revenge on Lemieux in that brawl after his hit on Draper, as well as Avalanche players Adam Foote, Peter Forsberg, Mike Ricci, Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic, Avalanche trainer Pat Karns and then-Avalanche head coach Marc Crawford, as well as Red Wings players Mike Knuble, Vladimir Konstantinov (and his daughter Anastasia), Brendan Shanahan, Mike Vernon and Steve Yzerman, then-Red Wings head coach Scotty Bowman and then-Red Wings trainer John Wharton, as well as NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, former NHL player and current Avalanche broadcaster Peter McNab, former ESPN NHL broadcaster Gary Thorne, longtime Red Wings broadcaster Ken Daniels, former Red Wings player and current broadcaster Mickey Redmond, former NHL executive Brian Burke, former NHL referee Paul Devorski, Colorado Hockey Now writer Adrian Dater and former Red Wings team photographer Mark Hicks. Unrivaled will premiere on June 26, 2022 at 1 P.M. on ESPN.[1]
Story[edit]
Claude Lemieux and Darren McCarty meet at a local bat in Detroit on March 26, 2022, 25 years after The Fight Night at the Joe, to discuss the historic game between the two teams in front of a live crowd.[2]
The documentary started with Claude Lemieux being awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as a member of the New Jersey Devils after the Devils swept the Red Wings in the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals. The documentary then details the relocation of the Quebec Nordiques to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche prior to the 1995-96 NHL season and the Avalanche signing Claude Lemieux from the New Jersey Devils and Patrick Roy from the Montreal Canadiens.
It then goes into the 1996 Western Conference Finals series between the two teams and how the rivalry got started. After the Colorado Avalanche won the first two games of the series in Detroit, in the first period of Game 3, Red Wings winger Vyacheslav Kozlov slams Adam Foote's face into the glass. Claude Lemieux purposefully punches Koslov as an act of revenge for his hit on Foote. Lemieux said that he figured he was going to be suspended for his punch of Koslov and was fined $1,000 and was suspended for Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. The Avalanche enter Game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference Finals with a 3-2 series lead and in the first period of Game 6, Claude Lemieux checks Kris Draper into the boards in brutal fashion. That hit sent Kris Draper into the hospital and Claude Lemieux got ejected from the game for that hit. The Avalanche won that game 4-1 and advanced to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals.[3] In a post game press conference, Claude Lemieux did not show remorse for the hit, but says the Red Wings should be upset about the fact that they were playing soft in the last two postseasons.
The Red Wings trainer detailed the brutal injuries that Kris Draper had, including a broken jaw, a shattered check and orbital bone, broken nose, and concussion.[2][4] The trainers wanted Kris Draper to stay in Denver, but Draper wanted to fly home with the team, so the pilots kept on constant alert in case Draper required an emergency landing. Lemieux was suspended for the first two games if the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals, and while a two game suspension was unheard of at the time, Red Wings players were upset that Lemieux was only suspended two games for the amount of damage that he caused on Draper.
The Colorado Avalanche swept the Florida Panthers in the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals to win the Stanley Cup. Two weeks later, Kris Draper was released from the hospital and his good friend and teammate Darren McCarty picked him up from the hospital. Draper was upset that the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup and was upset him most about the hit is that Lemieux never apologized to him for the hit, even as of today.
Entering the 1996-97 NHL season people thought of the Red Wings as being soft, so to add to their toughness, they signed Brendan Shanahan from the Hartford Whalers during the offseason. The Avalanche won the first two games against the Red Wings where Claude Lemieux did not play due to an abdominal injury. In the third game of the season which was ten days prior to the Fight Night at the Joe, the Avalanche had second change since they were the home team, so the Avalanche seemed to purposefully limit the time Claude Lemieux and Darren McCarty spend on the ice together, which Darren McCarty was upset about, so he had March 26, 1997 on his mind as his opportunity to get revenge on Lemieux for his hit on Draper. The Avalanche won that game 4-2.
Leading up to the Fight Night at the Joe, The Detroit News printed a "wanted" poster of Lemieux with a prison number under his photo under the headline "A Time For Revenge", and compared Lemieux to a carjacker on the day of the game.[3] Tensions toward Claude Lemieux were so high in Detroit on the day of the game that the Colorado Avalanche received police escort to the arena on the day of the game, something which is very unusual in sports.
Four minutes and 45 seconds into the first period, Avalanche defenseman Brent Severyn battled Red Wings defenseman Jamie Pushor. A few minutes later, Red Wings forward Kirk Maltby dropped Avalanche forward René Corbet. Just before the end of the first period, Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg knocked Red Wings center Igor Larionov onto his backside away from the play in front of the Red Wings bench. Near center ice, Red Wings forward Brendan Shanahan helped McCarty spin out of Foote's grip and then McCarty punched Lemieux at his right temple, and Lemieux crumbled down to the ice. With the crowd on their feet and the referees tied up elsewhere, McCarthy continued to beat up Lemieux, who was already bleeding badly. Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy then went to help rescue Lemieux, which led to a fight between Roy and Shanahan followed by a fight between Roy and Red Wings goaltender Mike Vernon.[3]
The fighting continued in the second period and the Avalanche had a 5-3 lead early in the third period. Midway into the third period, the Red Wings scored two goals in 24 seconds to tie the game on a wrap-around goal that Shanahan bounced off the back of Roy's left skate. In what was the longest regular season game that season due to all that fighting, the game went to overtime. In the first minute of overtime, Shanahan forced a turnover by Lemieux in the neutral zone. Larionov picked up the puck along the boards and weaved through three defenders to get into the Avalanche's defensive zone. Larionov drove the puck through the net to set up for McCarty's game-winning goal to give the Red Wings a 6-5 win over the Avalanche.[3]
The two teams met again in the 1997 Western Conference Finals. In Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, Crawford creamed at Bowman across the glass separating the two benches in Game 4 at Joe Louis Arena on May 22. Bowman then told Crawford, "I knew your father before you did, and I don't think he'd be very proud of how you're acting. The Red Wings won the game 6-0 and Crawford was fined $10,000 for the tirade. The Red Wings won Game 6 3-1 to win the Western Conference Finals in six games and advance to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals. The Red Wings swept the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals to win their first Stanley Cup in 42 years.
Six days later, Vladimir Konstantinov along with teammate Viacheslav Fetisov and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov went on a golf outing with the Stanley Cup to celebrate the Red Wings Stanley Cup Championship. On the way home, the three of them got into a limousine accident due to their driver being under the influence and having a history of drunk driving and Konstantinov suffered a career-ending injury as a result of that accident. Konstantinov couldn't walk anymore and it took him a few years just to talk even a few words as a result of that injury. Konstantinov was interviewed during the documentary but he only gave very short answers.[2]
The rivalry between the two teams continued through the 1997-98 NHL season. In a November 11, 1997 match between the two teams, McCarty and Lemieux began to throw punches seconds after the opening faceoff, much to the delight of the Joe Louis Arena crowd. On April Fools' Day in 1998, Roy fought Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood at center ice.</ref name="ESPN.com"> The Avalanche lost to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games while the Red Wings swept the Washington Capitals in the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals. Vladimir Konstantinov received a standing ovation from the fans during Game 4 of the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals and was brought on the ice after the game and was handed the Stanley Cup to take around the ice.[2]
The documentary ends with Claude Lemieux and Darren McCarty discussing how they let go of their hate toward each other and became friends and left their hate on the ice.[2]
References[edit]
- ↑ Hall, Andy (June 21, 2022). "Unrivaled: ESPN E60 Relives, Examines Fierce Avalanche-Red Wings Rivalry Born 25 Years Ago". ESPNPressRoom.com. ESPNPressRoom. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Miller, J.T. (June 27, 2022). "'Unrivaled: Red Wings v Avalanche' Review". medium.com. Medium. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Fleming, David (June 24, 2022). "Fight Night at the Joe: Remembering the legendary Colorado Avalanche-Detroit Red Wings brawl of 1997". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ↑ Mills, Jonathan (June 28, 2022). "ESPN's E60 documentary revisits iconic Red Wings and Avalanche rivalry". NHL.com. NHL. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
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