DETROIT – It was a seven-year war that transcended a league.
Like a good suspense thriller, the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry had a bit of everything to keep fans riveted for the next breath-stopping scene. For nearly a decade, there certainly was no shortage of villains and heroes from Claude Lemieux and Patrick Roy to Darren McCarty and Igor Larionov.
But the rivalry also provided fans with some of the best hockey in the world – and lots of it – including five memorable playoff battles with a bevy of Hockey Hall of Famers resulting in the winner advancing to the Stanley Cup championship in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002.