CIMPLE – A Curious Introvert's Musings & Photos about Life and Enjoyment

In the good old days of my favorite NHL rivalry, the Detroit Red Wings vs. the Colorado Avalanche, it was said at times  “that we went to a fight at Joe Louis Arena and a hockey game broke out,” but now as times have changed and fighting is frowned upon in the NHL, it has become necessary to see my hockey fights where I can find them and, in this case, at the Skeletons Are Alive in Northville, MI.  The McCarty/Lemieux skeletons were my favorite of the hundred skeletons on display (created by the Begonia Brothers of Northville) and brought back wonderful memories of Detroit Red Wings hockey and had me looking forward to the 2015-16 NHL Opening/Wednesday Night Rivalry tonight on NBC Sports when the New York Rangers will be playing against the 2015 Stanley Cup Champions, Chicago Blackhawks.  The other Original Six (Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers) rivalry playing tonight on NHL GameCenter Live is the Montreal Canadiens vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Heading into another season hoping for a Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings or New York Rangers Stanley Cup Finals, but always satisfied if any teams from the Original Six make the playoffs.  Currently, the best Original Six rivalry seems to exist between Montreal and Boston, but I am hoping this year with former Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock leaving Detroit to coach the Maple Leafs and join new Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan (one of my favorite Red Wings players from the old days), that the Maple Leafs/Red Wings rivalry will regain some intensity in the Red Wings season opener against Toronto this Friday.  The skeleton pose above recalls the famous hockey game and brawl between the Red Wings and Avalanche that occurred at Joe Louis Arena on March 26th, 1997 that resulted in the “turtle” move by Claude Lemieux when Darren McCarty sought revenge for a vicious hit by Lemieux against Kris Draper in the previous year’s playoffs, the unbelievable center ice hit by Shanahan against Patrick Roy and the great goaltender fight at center ice between Patrick Roy and Mike Vernon.  This rivalry began in the mid 1990s and extended to the early 2000s and during a seven-year span the two teams won five Stanley Cups (Red Wings – 3; Colorado – 2) and enjoyed several heavy weight fighting matches.  Hoping this year not only ends with my favorite teams in the finals, but also the creation and continuation of exciting hockey rivalries.  It begins tonight between the Canadiens/Maple Leafs and the Rangers/Blackhawks after the 2015 Stanley Cup Championship banner is raised, continues throughout the season when the Blackhawks, Rangers and Wings appear on NBC Sports Wednesday Night Rivalry eighteen times, then on New Year’s Day with the 2016 Bridgestone Winter Classic featuring the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens at Gillette Stadium and a return of my favorite rivalry, the Detroit Red Wings vs. the Colorado Avalanche, on February 27th, 2016 when the two teams play at Coors Field for the 2016 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series.  Waiting for the puck to drop on another exciting hockey season.