Fight Night at the Joe may've been one of the notorious evenings in NHL history, but it changed the trajectory of the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry.
Fight Night at the Joe was one of the most unforgettable moments of the Detroit Red Wings rivalry with the Colorado Avalanche during the mid-to-late 1990s. Both teams had gone at it in the playoffs the previous season, with the Wings coming off on the losing end.
In 1996-97, everyone in Hockeytown knew that if the Wings wanted to finally hoist the Stanley Cup, they had to go through the Avs, a team that won it all to cap off their very first season in Denver following a recent move from Quebec City.