Kris Draper got into the passenger seat. Darren McCarty was driving. They stopped for coffee at a Tim Horton's, and then headed to The Joe.
Draper already was wired. He hadn't slept that afternoon, hadn't gotten in his usual pre-game routine. It wasn't just any day: It was the last of four games in the 1996-97 season against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, who had beaten the Wings the first three times. It was also the Claude Lemieux's first visit to Joe Louis Arena since his hit from behind in the 1996 Western Conference finals sent Draper to the hospital with a broken jaw and shattered cheek.