DENVER — An olive branch, in the form of Claude Lemieux's hand, was extended. At the other end to meet it, with fingers outstretched and not balled into a fist, was one of Kris Draper's. And with that, hockey's bloodiest feud in modern NHL history was now firmly in the past.
The sweat was there, a few sentimental tears were there, but there would be no blood. Somehow, that all made for the perfect ending to the storied rivalry between the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings on Friday night, in the alumni-game portion of the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series before 43,319 at Coors Field.
Despite the game's sponsor, the quality of this contest was much better than beer league. Sporting a beard with more salt than pepper, Patrick Roy led the way in the alumni Avs' 5-2 victory. Roy's butterfly, it turns out, still has pretty decent wings.
But the real story might have come after the game, when the formerly sworn enemies Lemieux and Draper came together for a handshake. A real one too, not one of those phony grip-and-grin jobs like at a campaign rally. It only took 20 years, but finally Draper and Lemieux could say it: ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Adrian Dater
Bad Blood in Bitter Avs-Red Wings Rivalry Is a Thing of the Past
February 26th, 2016 by Adrian Dater Leave a reply »
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