1996-97 Detroit Red Wings Darren McCarty Jersey

On May 29th during Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals of the 1996 NHL playoffs, Claude Lemieux of the Colorado Avalanche checked Kris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings from behind face first into the top edge of the boards in front of the Red Wings bench. Draper suffered horrible injuries, which included a broken jaw, broken nose, shattered cheekbone, numerous stitches and a concussion. The Avalanche would go on to defeat the Red Wings and eventually win the Stanley Cup. At the conclusion of the series with Detroit, the Red Wings Dino Ciccarelli said about Lemieux, "I can't believe I shook the guy's freaking hand."

During the 2006-07 season, Colorado and Detroit would meet three times without incident, but Lemeiux was not in the Colorado line up for any of those contests. It was on this date in 1997 that the teams would meet once again, but the stakes were now very different.

At this late date in the season, each club was in position make the playoffs, setting up a possible playoff matchup down the road. In addition, Lemeiux was now going to be in the Colorado lineup, facing off against the Red Wings for the first time in ten months since the savage incident with Draper.

The first fight of the evening occurred at the 4:45 mark of the first period, with another at 10:14. Things really exploded at 18:22, still in the first, as a scuffle between the Red Wings Igor Larionov and Colorado's Peter Forsberg gave the Red Wings Darren McCarty the opportunity he had been waiting for.

Breaking away from an official, McCarty surprised Lemeiux and blasted him in the temple with his glove still on, sending Lemeiux, dazed, down in a heap. McCarty then tore of Lemieux's helmet and began to rain haymakers down on Lemeiux. Unable to defend himself after the sucker punch he had received, all Lemieux could do at that point was cover his head and wait out the assault, which continued unabated as McCarty punched him repeatedly. As one official tried to restrain McCarty, he would even knee Lemeiux in the head along the boards in retribution for his hit on his friend and teammate Draper.

McCarty extracting his revenge on Lemieux 

The dazed Lemieux was in no shape to defend himself following the initial blow to the head and did not fight back. To this day he is considered by many to have cowardly "turtled".

At the same time as this was happening, Patrick Roy would come flying out from the Avalanche goal to aid Lemeiux, only to be intercepted by Brendan Shanahan. Roy's arrival on the scene would only serve as an invitation to Mike Vernon to join the battle and eventually the two netminders would square off in one of the classic goalie fights of all time, leaving Roy bloodied as both fighters landed some solid blows.

Roy and Vernon were the main event on the card

"As soon as he [Roy] started, I started, " said Vernon. "And then he and Shanny collided. Patrick and Foote were both on Shanahan. The first guy I grabbed at was Foote, which was really a stupid thing to do. Then Patrick kind of jumped me from behind."

"Fight Night at the Joe" would continue just 15 seconds after the puck was dropped when Adam Deadmarsh went after the rugged Vladimir Konstantinov.

The period break had no calming effect, as just four seconds into the second period Adam Foote and Shanahan tried to rearrange each other's dental work. The period continued in a similar fashion when Mike Keane pummeled Thomas Holmstrom and a topless Brent Severyn was held off by Aaron Ward at just 3:34.

Amazingly, McCarty remained in the game following his assault on Lemeiux, having only received a double minor for roughing! Deadmarsh sought retribution for Lemeiux and he and McCarty had a brawl at 7:24. Jamie Pushor and Uwe Krupp then exchanged blows at 11:26.

Meanwhile the score of the game stood at 3-2 in favor of Colorado. Each team would score another goal before the end of the second to make game 4-3 in favor of the Avalanche after two, with six goals having been scored amongst all the fights in the second period.

Things settled down for the most part after the Pushor/Krupp fight, with only a pair of roughing penalties in the third period as Colorado scored to increase their lead to a pair of goals at 1:11, only to have Detroit excite the home fans with goals at 8:27 and 9:03 to tie the contest, which would go to overtime, won by McCarty of all people, 39 seconds into the extra period to give Detroit not only their revenge on Lemeiux, but a 6-5 win over their hated rivals, their first victory over Colorado all season.

"They should have had a few different calls," said Colorado coach Marc Crawford. "The ref told me before the second period that he blew it. That's a small consolation. The linsemen even said it should've been a gross misconduct on McCarty. It's a little ironic that he got the overtime goal."

The game ended with 18 fighting majors and 144 penalty minutes being called. Combatant Vernon got the win in goal for Detroit, the 300th victory of his career.

Asked if he looked forward to a playoff matchup with Detroit, Keane responded , "I've got no problem playing a heartless team. Absolutely, I'd like to play them. We don't like each other. It will make a great series."

The two teams would meet in the Western Conference Finals that season, with Detroit eliminating the defending champion Avalanche in six games, eventually capturing the Stanley Cup with a sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers, a championship whose luster would be tarnished by the limousine crash that would leave Konstantinov in a coma for weeks and ending his career.

For further reading on the intense rivalry between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche, we suggest "Blood Feud: The Inside Story of Pro Sports' Nastiest and Best Rivaly of It's Era".

Today's featured jersey is a 1996-97 Detroit Red Wings Darren McCarty jersey. This jersey features the Stanley Cup Finals patch worn by the Red Wings and Flyers during all games of the Stanley Cup Finals.

McCarty scored a highlight reel goal for Detroit that put the Red Wings up 2-0 and became the game winner when the Flyers scored an otherwise meaningless goal with 15 seconds left in the game.

Here is part one of the fighting from Bloody Wednesday, which includes McCarty's sucker punch on Lemieux and the fight between Roy and Vernon.

Next is part two of "The Brawl in Hockeytown."

We hope you have some time on your hands today, as McCarty and Lemieux meet up for the first time ever to discuss the incident and what led up to it, thirteen years after the incident. It's a fascinating insight into "The Code" among hockey players and the mindset of both McCarty and Lemieux both then and now and the respect they have for each other. It's quite possibly the most interesting interview we've ever posted on Third String Goalie.

2007-08 Flint Generals Darren McCarty Jersey

July by the Numbers returns to Michigan once again for jersey #25.

When one thinks of the minor leagues, the mental image is generally that of a young hopeful hoping to make it to the NHL for the first time. There are however, other reasons for players to find themselves on minor league rosters. Such was the case of then three time Stanley Cup champion Darren McCarty.

McCarty began his NHL career in 1993 with the Detroit Red Wings and was a vital part of the powerful Red Wings lineup for the next 11 seasons, which included Stanley Cup championships in 1997, 1998 and 2002. While not a flashy goal scorer, his contributions were his toughness, tenacity and team first approach, best recalled by his attack on Claude Lemeiux in retribution for Lemieux's savage hit on teammate Kris Draper.

McCarty did not play in the 2004-05 season of the NHL lockout when many players found jobs in European leagues or North American minor leagues. Following the lockout, a new salary cap system was instituted in the NHL and the Red Wings chose to buy out McCarty's contract as a result of the new financial structure in the post-lockout NHL.

McCarty then signed with the Calgary Flames as a free agent for 2005-06 and played in 67 games, scoring 13 points and registering 117 penalty minutes. McCarty went through some personal issues at the time and in 2006-07 he appeared in just 32 games for the Flames without registering a single point.

At the start of the 2007-08 season, he was without a team. A meeting with Draper in November started his return to hockey when Draper encouraged him to get back in shape and arranged for him to get a tryout with the Flint Generals of the International Hockey League, a team in which Draper is a part owner.

To clarify, this version of the IHL is not the one that existed from 1945 to 2001, but a new league founded in 1991 as the Colonial Hockey League with teams in Michigan and Ontario. As the league expanded eastward, it was renamed the United Hockey League in 1997 before resurrecting the International Hockey League name in 2007, as the original IHL had a strong presence in the Great Lakes area.

This league however was not at the same level as being one step below the NHL, and is considered the fourth rung on the ladder below the NHL, AHL and ECHL.

Nor was this version of the Flint Generals the same franchise which existed from 1969 to 1985 in the original IHL and won the Turner Cup in 1984. That club relocated to Saginaw, Michigan in 1985 and changed their name to the Saginaw Hawks in 1987 before folding in 1989.

McCarty then joined the Generals by signing a contract on December 31, 2007 and played in 11 games, scoring six points and adding 30 penalty minutes.

A little over a month later McCarty was signed by the Red Wings top minor league affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, and immediately impressed with a hat trick plus an assist in his first game for the Griffins.

After 13 games with Grand Rapids, McCarty was signed by the Detroit Red Wings and was called up by Detroit on March 7, 2008 in time to play three regular season games prior to the playoffs. The top-seeded Red Wings defeated the Nashville Predators 4 games to 2, swept the Colorado Avalanche in 4 and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals by eliminating the Dallas Stars 4-2. They then captured the fourth Stanley Cup of McCarty's career by downing the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games to complete McCarty's comeback from being out of hockey six months earlier.

McCarty played one more season, splitting time between the Red Wings and the Griffins (while recovering from an injury and subsequent surgery) before ending his season and career back with Detroit to finish the season following the Griffins elimination from the playoffs.

The new version of the Flint Generals that McCarty began his comeback with came into being in 1993 and took the name of the previous club based on a vote of the fans. The team won the Colonial Cup in 1996 and again in 2000 before folding in 2010.

Even the IHL has ceased to exist, as the remaining five teams are set to join the Central Hockey League for the 2010-11 season as part of a merger between the leagues which will be known as the CHL.

Today's featured jersey is a 2007-08 Flint Generals Darren McCarty jersey worn during the start of McCarty's comeback attempt after starting the season without a job. The Generals wore an attractive jersey in the original Generals blue and gold colors in keeping with the dignity associated with the Generals name, unlike many minor league teams who have gaudy jerseys to go with their cartoonish logos and often ridiculous names, especially in the lower minors.

Today's video section begins with a look at McCarty's first game with the Generals and the postgame press conference.

Here is McCarty's comeback story as told by the CBC.

1996-97 Detroit Red Wings Darren McCarty Jersey

On May 29th during Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals of the 1996 NHL playoffs, Claude Lemieux of the Colorado Avalanche checked Kris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings from behind face first into the top edge of the boards in front of the Red Wings bench.

Lemieux's hit which sent Draper face first into the boards

Draper suffered horrible injuries, which included a broken jaw, broken nose, shattered cheekbone, numerous stitches and a concussion.

Draper's injuries following the hit

The Avalanche would go on to defeat the Red Wings and eventually win the Stanley Cup. At the conclusion of the series with Detroit, the Red Wings Dino Ciccarelli said about Lemieux, "I can't believe I shook the guy's friggin' hand after the game. That pisses me right off."

During the 1996-97 season, Colorado and Detroit would meet three times without incident, but Lemeiux was not in the Colorado line up for any of those contests. It was on this date in 1997 that the teams would meet once again, but the stakes were now very different.

At this late date in the season, each club was in position make the playoffs, setting up a possible playoff matchup down the road. In addition, Lemeiux was now going to be in the Colorado lineup, facing off against the Red Wings for the first time in ten months since the savage incident with Draper.

The first fight of the evening occurred at the 4:45 mark of the first period, with another at 10:14. Things really exploded at 18:22, still in the first, as a scuffle between the Red Wings Igor Larionov and Colorado's Peter Forsberg gave the Red Wings Darren McCarty the opportunity he had been waiting for.

Breaking away from an official, McCarty surprised Lemeiux and blasted him in the temple with his glove still on, sending Lemeiux, dazed, down in a heap. McCarty then tore of Lemieux's helmet and began to rain haymakers down on Lemeiux. Unable to defend himself after the sucker punch he had received, all Lemieux could do at that point was cover his head and wait out the assault, which continued unabated as McCarty punched him repeatedly. As one official tried to restrain McCarty, he would even knee Lemeiux in the head along the boards in retribution for his hit on his friend and teammate Draper.

The dazed Lemieux was in no shape to defend himself following the initial blow to the head and did not fight back. To this day he is considered by many to have cowardly "turtled".

At the same time as this was happening, Patrick Roy would come flying out from the Avalanche goal to aid Lemeiux, only to be intercepted by Brendan Shanahan. Roy's arrival on the scene would only serve as an invitation to Mike Vernon to join the battle and eventually the two netminders would square off in one of the classic goalie fights of all time, leaving Roy bloodied as both fighters landed some solid blows.

"As soon as he [Roy] started, I started, " said Vernon. "And then he and Shanny collided. Patrick and Foote were both on Shanahan. The first guy I grabbed at was Foote, which was really a stupid thing to do. Then Patrick kind of jumped me from behind."

The classic goalie fight - Patrick Roy vs. Mike Vernon

"Fight Night at the Joe" would continue just 15 seconds after the puck was dropped when Adam Deadmarsh went after the rugged Vladimir Konstantinov.

The period break had no calming effect, as just four seconds into the second period Adam Foote and Shanahan tried to rearrange each other's dental work. The period continued in a similar fashion when Mike Keane pummeled Thomas Holmstrom and a topless Brent Severyn was held off by Aaron Ward at just 3:34.

Amazingly, McCarty remained in the game following his assault on Lemeiux, having only received a double minor for roughing! Deadmarsh sought retribution for Lemeiux and he and McCarty had a brawl at 7:24. Jamie Pushor and Uwe Krupp then exchanged blows at 11:26.

Meanwhile the score of the game stood at 3-2 in favor of Colorado. Each team would score another goal before the end of the second to make game 4-3 in favor of the Avalanche after two, with six goals having been scored amongst all the fights in the second period.

Things settled down for the most part after the Pushor/Krupp fight, with only a pair of roughing penalties in the third period as Colorado scored to increase their lead to a pair of goals at 1:11, only to have Detroit excite the home fans with goals at 8:27 and 9:03 to tie the contest, which would go to overtime, won by McCarty of all people, 39 seconds into the extra period to give Detroit not only their revenge on Lemeiux, but a 6-5 win over their hated rivals, their first victory over Colorado all season.

"They should have had a few different calls," said Colorado coach Marc Crawford. "The ref told me before the second period that he blew it. That's a small consolation. The linsemen even said it should've been a gross misconduct on McCarty. It's a little ironic that he got the overtime goal."

The game ended with 18 fighting majors and 144 penalty minutes being called. Combatant Vernon got the win in goal for Detroit, the 300th victory of his career.

Asked if he looked forward to a playoff matchup with Detroit, Keane responded , "I've got no problem playing a heartless team. Absolutely, I'd like to play them. We don't like each other. It will make a great series."

The two teams would meet in the Western Conference Finals that season, with Detroit eliminating the defending champion Avalanche in six games, eventually capturing the Stanley Cup with a sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers, a championship whose luster would be tarnished by the limousine crash that would leave Konstantinov in a coma for weeks and ending his career.

For further reading on the intense rivalry between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche, we suggest "Blood Feud: The Inside Story of Pro Sports' Nastiest and Best Rivaly of It's Era".

Today's featured jersey is a 1996-97 Detroit Red Wings Darren McCarty jersey. This jersey features the Stanley Cup Finals patch worn by the Red Wings and Flyers during all games of the Stanley Cup Finals.

McCarty scored a highlight reel goal for Detroit that put the Red Wings up 2-0 and became the game winner when the Flyers scored an otherwise meaningless goal with 15 seconds left in the game.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1995-96 Colorado Avalanche Claude Lemieux jersey as worn during his infamous check which sent Kris Draper into the boards face first, sparking the Avalanche/Red Wings rivalry which would last for seasons to come.

This was the first season for the Avalanche in Colorado after they relocated from Quebec City and they would go on to win the Stanley Cup at the conclusion of that season, thanks in large part to the arrival of goaltender Roy, who would have never have been traded to the franchise had they still been located in Quebec as the Nordiques due to the intense rivalry that existed between the two Francophone clubs.

The jersey was innovative for it's "mountain range" striping along the waist, which was mimicked on the arms and also was made unique by the team's choice of burgundy and light blue, before unused in the NHL.

Here is part one of the fighting from Bloody Wednesday, which includes McCarty's sucker punch on Lemieux and the fight between Roy and Vernon.

Next is part two of "The Brawl in Hockeytown."

We hope you have some time on your hands today, as McCarty and Lemieux meet up for the first time ever to discuss the incident and what led up to it, thirteen years after the incident. It's a fascinating insight into "The Code" among hockey players and the mindset of both McCarty and Lemieux both then and now and the respect they have for each other. It's quite possibly the most interesting interview we've ever posted on Third String Goalie.

2007-08 Flint Generals Darren McCarty Jersey

July by the Numbers returns to Michigan once again for jersey #25.

When one thinks of the minor leagues, the mental image is generally that of a young hopeful hoping to make it to the NHL for the first time. There are however, other reasons for players to find themselves on minor league rosters. Such was the case of then three time Stanley Cup champion Darren McCarty.

McCarty began his NHL career in 1993 with the Detroit Red Wings and was a vital part of the powerful Red Wings lineup for the next 11 seasons, which included Stanley Cup championships in 1997, 1998 and 2002. While not a flashy goal scorer, his contributions were his toughness, tenacity and team first approach, best recalled by his attack on Claude Lemeiux in retribution for Lemieux's savage hit on teammate Kris Draper.

McCarty did not play in the 2004-05 season of the NHL lockout when many players found jobs in European leagues or North American minor leagues. Following the lockout, a new salary cap system was instituted in the NHL and the Red Wings chose to buy out McCarty's contract as a result of the new financial structure in the post-lockout NHL.

McCarty then signed with the Calgary Flames as a free agent for 2005-06 and played in 67 games, scoring 13 points and registering 117 penalty minutes. McCarty went through some personal issues at the time and in 2006-07 he appeared in just 32 games for the Flames without registering a single point.

At the start of the 2007-08 season, he was without a team. A meeting with Draper in November started his return to hockey when Draper encouraged him to get back in shape and arranged for him to get a tryout with the Flint Generals of the International Hockey League, a team in which Draper is a part owner.

To clarify, this version of the IHL is not the one that existed from 1495 to 2001, but a new league founded in 1991 as the Colonial Hockey League with teams in Michigan and Ontario. As the league expanded eastward, it was renamed the United Hockey League in 1997 before resurrecting the International Hockey League name in 2007, as the original IHL had a strong presence in the Great Lakes area.

This league however was not at the same level as being one step below the NHL, and is considered the fourth rung on the ladder below the NHL, AHL and ECHL.

Nor was this version of the Flint Generals the same franchise which existed from 1969 to 1985 in the original IHL and won the Turner Cup in 1984. That club relocated to Saginaw, Michigan in 1985 and changed their name to the Saginaw Hawks in 1987 before folding in 1989.

McCarty then joined the Generals by signing a contract on December 31, 2007 and played in 11 games, scoring six points and adding 30 penalty minutes.

A little over a month later McCarty was signed by the Red Wings top minor league affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, and immediately impressed with a hat trick plus an assist in his first game for the Griffins.

After 13 games with Grand Rapids, McCarty was signed by the Detroit Red Wings and was called up by Detroit on March 7, 2008 in time to play three regular season games prior to the playoffs. The top-seeded Red Wings defeated the Nashville Predators 4 games to 2, swept the Colorado Avalanche in 4 and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals by eliminating the Dallas Stars 4-2. They then captured the fourth Stanley Cup of McCarty's career by downing the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games to complete McCarty's comeback from being out of hockey six months earlier.

McCarty played one more season, splitting time between the Red Wings and the Griffins (while recovering from an injury and subsequent surgery) before ending his season and career back with Detroit to finish the season following the Griffins elimination from the playoffs.

The new version of the Flint Generals that McCarty began his comeback with came into being in 1993 and took the name of the previous club based on a vote of the fans. The team won the Colonial Cup in 1996 and again in 2000 before folding in 2010.

Even the IHL has ceased to exist, as the remaining five teams are set to join the Central Hockey League for the 2010-11 season as part of a merger between the leagues which will be known as the CHL.

Today's featured jersey is a 2007-08 Flint Generals Darren McCarty jersey worn during the start of McCarty's comeback attempt after starting the season without a job. The Generals wore an attractive jersey in the original Generals blue and gold colors in keeping with the dignity associated with the Generals name, unlike many minor league teams who have gaudy jerseys to go with their cartoonish logos and often ridiculous names, especially in the lower minors.

Today's video section begins with a look at McCarty's first game with the Generals and the postgame press conference.

Here is McCarty's comeback story as told by the CBC.

1996-97 Detroit Red Wings Darren McCarty Jersey

On May 29th during Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals of the 1996 NHL playoffs, Claude Lemieux of the Colorado Avalanche checked Kris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings from behind face first into the top edge of the boards in front of the Red Wings bench. Draper suffered horrible injuries, which included a broken jaw, broken nose, shattered cheekbone, numerous stitches and a concussion. The Avalanche would go on to defeat the Red Wings and eventually win the Stanley Cup. At the conclusion of the series with Detroit, the Red Wings Dino Ciccarelli said about Lemieux, "I can't believe I shook the guy's freaking hand."

During the 2006-07 season, Colorado and Detroit would meet three times without incident, but Lemeiux was not in the Colorado line up for any of those contests. It was on this date in 1997 that the teams would meet once again, but the stakes were now very different.

At this late date in the season, each club was in position make the playoffs, setting up a possible playoff matchup down the road. In addition, Lemeiux was now going to be in the Colorado lineup, facing off against the Red Wings for the first time in ten months since the savage incident with Draper.

The first fight of the evening occurred at the 4:45 mark of the first period, with another at 10:14. Things really exploded at 18:22, still in the first, as a scuffle between the Red Wings Igor Larionov and Colorado's Peter Forsberg gave the Red Wings Darren McCarty the opportunity he had been waiting for.

Breaking away from an official, McCarty surprised Lemeiux and blasted him in the temple with his glove still on, sending Lemeiux, dazed, down in a heap. McCarty then tore of Lemieux's helmet and began to rain haymakers down on Lemeiux. Unable to defend himself after the sucker punch he had received, all Lemieux could do at that point was cover his head and wait out the assault, which continued unabated as McCarty punched him repeatedly. As one official tried to restrain McCarty, he would even knee Lemeiux in the head along the boards in retribution for his hit on his friend and teammate Draper.

The dazed Lemieux was in no shape to defend himself following the initial blow to the head and did not fight back. To this day he is considered by many to have cowardly "turtled".

At the same time as this was happening, Patrick Roy would come flying out from the Avalanche goal to aid Lemeiux, only to be intercepted by Brendan Shanahan. Roy's arrival on the scene would only serve as an invitation to Mike Vernon to join the battle and eventually the two netminders would square off in one of the classic goalie fights of all time, leaving Roy bloodied as both fighters landed some solid blows.

"As soon as he [Roy] started, I started, " said Vernon. "And then he and Shanny collided. Patrick and Foote were both on Shanahan. The first guy I grabbed at was Foote, which was really a stupid thing to do. Then Patrick kind of jumped me from behind."

"Fight Night at the Joe" would continue just 15 seconds after the puck was dropped when Adam Deadmarsh went after the rugged Vladimir Konstantinov.

The period break had no calming effect, as just four seconds into the second period Adam Foote and Shanahan tried to rearrange each other's dental work. The period continued in a similar fashion when Mike Keane pummeled Thomas Holmstrom and a topless Brent Severyn was held off by Aaron Ward at just 3:34.

Amazingly, McCarty remained in the game following his assault on Lemeiux, having only received a double minor for roughing! Deadmarsh sought retribution for Lemeiux and he and McCarty had a brawl at 7:24. Jamie Pushor and Uwe Krupp then exchanged blows at 11:26.

Meanwhile the score of the game stood at 3-2 in favor of Colorado. Each team would score another goal before the end of the second to make game 4-3 in favor of the Avalanche after two, with six goals having been scored amongst all the fights in the second period.

Things settled down for the most part after the Pushor/Krupp fight, with only a pair of roughing penalties in the third period as Colorado scored to increase their lead to a pair of goals at 1:11, only to have Detroit excite the home fans with goals at 8:27 and 9:03 to tie the contest, which would go to overtime, won by McCarty of all people, 39 seconds into the extra period to give Detroit not only their revenge on Lemeiux, but a 6-5 win over their hated rivals, their first victory over Colorado all season.

"They should have had a few different calls," said Colorado coach Marc Crawford. "The ref told me before the second period that he blew it. That's a small consolation. The linsemen even said it should've been a gross misconduct on McCarty. It's a little ironic that he got the overtime goal."

The game ended with 18 fighting majors and 144 penalty minutes being called. Combatant Vernon got the win in goal for Detroit, the 300th victory of his career.

Asked if he looked forward to a playoff matchup with Detroit, Keane responded , "I've got no problem playing a heartless team. Absolutely, I'd like to play them. We don't like each other. It will make a great series."

The two teams would meet in the Western Conference Finals that season, with Detroit eliminating the defending champion Avalanche in six games, eventually capturing the Stanley Cup with a sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers, a championship whose luster would be tarnished by the limousine crash that would leave Konstantinov in a coma for weeks and ending his career.

For further reading on the intense rivalry between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche, we suggest "Blood Feud: The Inside Story of Pro Sports' Nastiest and Best Rivaly of It's Era".

Today's featured jersey is a Nike 1996-97 Detroit Red Wings Darren McCarty jersey. This jersey features the Stanley Cup Finals patch worn by the Red Wings and Flyers during all games of the Stanley Cup Finals.

McCarty scored a highlight reel goal for Detroit that put the Red Wings up 2-0 and became the game winner when the Flyers scored an otherwise meaningless goal with 15 seconds left in the game.

Here is part one of the fighting from Bloody Wednesday, which includes McCarty's sucker punch on Lemieux and the fight between Roy and Vernon.

Next is part two of "The Brawl in Hockeytown."

We hope you have some time on your hands today, as McCarty and Lemieux meet up for the first time ever to discuss the incident and what led up to it, thirteen years after the incident. It's a fascinating insight into "The Code" among hockey players and the mindset of both McCarty and Lemieux both then and now and the respect they have for each other. It's quite possibly the most interesting interview we've ever posted on Third String Goalie.