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To access our most exclusive sports content, like the stories linked above, become a Free Press subscriber for $1. James’ prose also appears in “Stanleytown 25 Years Later.”) James, who helped cover the 1997 Stanley Cup run, recently wrote “The Big 50: The Men and Moments That Made the Detroit Red Wings.” Featuring numerous tales about the key figures from 1997, “The Big 50” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. (Plenty of Gave’s prose also appears in “Stanleytown 25 Years Later.”)Įven more to read: Red Wings beat reporter Helene St. (It’ll make a great Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift for the Wings fanatic in your life!) Personalized copies available via to read: Another new Wings book arrived in April from Keith Gave, a longtime hockey writer for the Free Press in the 1980s and 1990s: “Vlad The Impaler: More Epic Tales from Detroit’s ’97 Stanley Cup Conquest.” It is available through Amazon and other booksellers and a portion of the proceeds is earmarked for the Vladimir Konstantinov Special Needs Trust. It’s called “Stanleytown 25 Years Later: The Inside Story on How the Stanley Cup Returned to the Motor City after 41 Frustrating Seasons.” It’s only $29.95 and it’s available at. Relive the glory: The Free Press has crafted a 208-page, full-color, hardcover collector’s book with fresh insights and dynamic storytelling about the 1996-97 Wings. It doesn’t matter - all three places have warm weather, so I’ll be all right with that.” I haven’t really thought about who I’d like to face. “Well,” he said, “we didn’t fare too well against any of them in the regular season, eh? But it’s a whole different ballgame in the playoffs. Certainly, it’s very dangerous out there without a helmet.” He won three Stanley Cups with the Oilers and one with the Rangers.įamous last words: After practice, Draper only could laugh when asked whether he had a playoff preference among the Stars, Ducks and Coyotes. “Whether someone else would choose to go without one, I hope not,” McTavish said. His final game was against the Red Wings, a Game 3 loss in the first round of the playoffs. He made his debut in December 1979, with Boston, right before the NHL mandated headgear. He was the last player in the NHL to play without a helmet. Off the ice: An era ended when Blues center Craig MacTavish announced his retirement a few months shy of his 39th birthday. Game 1 was announced for three nights later at The Joe.ĭetroit Red Wings' Doug Brown and Anaheim Mighty Ducks' Richard Park battle during the game at Joe Louis Arena, March 30, 1997. They could have used the second intermission to begin preparations for the Red Wings.” During the season, Detroit struggled mightily against the trapping Ducks, going 0-3-1 and getting outscored, 7-3. Jason La Canfora wrote from the Pond for the Free Press: “The Ducks were up, 3-0 - a safe lead for any team, a virtually insurmountable lead for a team that traps as well as Anaheim.

DETROIT FREE PRESS HOME SERIES

When the Ducks, in their first playoff series since joining the league in 1993-94, added two more goals by the midpoint of the second period, well, their 3-0 victory was signed, sealed and delivered. So it was a surprise when Dave Karpa’s slap shot from the point beat Nikolai Khabibulin only 3:11 into Game 7. And the Oilers’ victory ensured the Wings would play the fourth-seeded Mighty Ducks or the fifth-seeded Coyotes.Īt Anaheim: Through six games, Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya had scored 10 of the Ducks’ 14 goals. The Oilers earned a semifinal matchup with the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche. “That was the greatest save I’ve ever seen,” said Oilers forward Doug Weight, a Warren native. Todd Marchant scored the game-winner at 12:26 on a breakaway, moments after Edmonton’s Curtis Joseph made a spectacular, diving backhanded glove save on Joe Nieuwendyk. But the Stars lost in overtime for the third time in the series, 4-3. At Dallas: With a victory over the seventh-seeded Oilers, the second-seeded Stars would have played the third-seeded Wings and owned home-ice advantage.

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