It may not be a relevant rivalry in today's National Hockey League, but in the mid to late 1990s the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche had one of the greatest, most competitive rivalries in all of sports. And it all started during the 1996 Western Conference Finals.
Claude Lemieux hit Kris Draper from behind in Game 6 of the series, sending the Red Wing centre's face directly into the boards. A broken jaw and shattered cheek and orbital bone were the result of the hit. The Avalanche went on to win the game, the series, and later the Stanley Cup.
The next season, a brawl that has been nicknamed Bloody Wednesday, Brawl in Hockeytown, and Fight Night at the Joe would take place, and go down in hockey history as one of the most chaotic nights the sport has seen.
Longtime Detroit Red Wing Kris Draper joined The Players' Tribune, and gave all the gory details from the injury and the brawl.
The following excerpts are from The Players' Tribune piece by Kris Draper 'There Will Be Blood':
To read the full story, head over to The Players' Tribune piece by Kris Draper 'There Will Be Blood.'
