(on most Thursdays at OOB, I rant in list fashion. Last week it was Things The Tigers Can Do To Improve Their Bullpen Until Fernando Rodney And Joel Zumaya Return)
Ten Things I'll Never Forget When It Comes To Red Wings Playoff Runs*
*Note: I'm leaving winning the Cups out of this list because those are too easy
10. Goose loonies. In 1988, several Red Wings players were seen partying until the wee hours at the Goose Loonies bar in Edmonton, on the eve of Game 5 of the Conference Finals. That incident -- which was followed by a lackluster performance in the game -- cast aspersions on coach Jacques Demers' control over his players, and followed him until he was fired two years later.
9. John Brophy's choke gesture. Maple Leafs coach Brophy was caught on camera looking at the Red Wings bench and making a choking gesture during the 1987 conference semi-finals, mocking them while his Leafs charged to a 3-1 series lead. The Red Wings came back to win the series as Brophy's team gagged.
8. An unexpected ovation. I attended Game 4 of a first round series against the Blues in 1984, with the Red Wings facing elimination in the best-of-five go-round. The Red Wings lost in overtime, but after a brief groan by the crowd, they suddenly erupted in ovation, saluting the team's first playoff appearance in six years. It was quite a moment that I obviously haven't forgotten.
7. Upsetting the Canadiens. The Cinderella Red Wings faced the mighty Canadiens in Round 2 in 1978, and after losing Game 1, came back to stun the Canadiens in Game 2, squaring the series. The Red Wings came home to a raucous Olympia crowd, but lost the next three games.
6. Dino's declaration. After Claude Lemieux disfigured Kris Draper's face in the 1996 Conference Finals, Dino Ciccarelli stewed after the Avs bumped the Wings out. He spoke of the post-series handshake with Lemieux, saying, "I can't believe I shook his f***ing hand."
5. Yzerman returns from knee injury. It happened in Game 3 of the Conference Finals in 1988 against Edmonton. Steve Yzerman, out since early-March with a severe knee injury, showed us yet another example of his toughness and dedication when he returned after only two months, the Red Wings down 0-2 in the series. The ovation for no. 19 was thunderous.
4. Yzerman goes down. Game 5 of the 2004 conference semis. Yzerman is felled by an errant slapshot, taking it directly in the eye. All I kept thinking was, "PLEASE don't let his career end this way." Thankfully, it didn't, but it was a horrific injury.
3. Bill Lochead's goal. I wrote about it extensively here, but it bears mentioning again. Lochead's goal late in Game 2 of the 1978 first round put the Red Wings ahead against the Atlanta Flames, and they held on for their first series win in 12 years.
2. Yzerman's OT goal vs. St. Louis. It was sheer relief that I felt when Yzerman scored on a slapshot from the blue line to beat the Blues in double OT in Game 7 of the 1996 conference semis. The Wings won 62 games, then struggled to dispatch Winnipeg in Round 1. After taking a 2-0 lead on St. Louis, the Blues won the next three games. The Wings won a gutsy Game 6 on the road, then finally eliminated the Blues, 1-0, in Game 7. I remember pounding the carpet, screaming, "Thank God! Thank God!"
(TIE) 1. Larionov beats the 'Canes. Game 3, 2002 Cup Finals. It went into triple OT, and I watched this one in my car, at a drive-in theater, on one of those six-inch TV screens plugged into my cigarette lighter. As my wife and child dozed off, I watched silently. When Larionov scored, I stifled a scream, and I could hear others in their cars yelling. It was wonderfully surreal.
1. Wings come back against Caps. Game 2, 1998 Cup Finals. A wild one. The Red Wings fall behind by two goals twice, then rally to tie late in the third period. Washington's Esa Tikkanen misses an open net, with the Caps still up by one, opening the door for the Wings. Draper wins it in overtime. One of the most exciting playoff games you'll ever see.
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