Revdarth.com

Growing up near Denver, we had two sports religions in our house - the Broncos and the Buffs. I vaguely remember the old Colorado Rockies NHL team (who later became the NJ Devils) and my dad took me to some DU hockey games growing up, but that was about it. My most passionate hockey memories until I graduated from college, however, were usually tied to EA’s NHL 95 game on the Sega Genesis (The Montreal Canadiens were amazing on there - Patrick Roy was a stone wall).

My hockey interest spiked, however, when the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver in 1996 and became the Colorado Avalanche. It didn’t hurt that they managed to win the Stanley Cup in their first year and became the first major Denver pro sports team to win a title. Of course, the Broncos then got in gear and won back to back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998.

But, there will always be a special place for the Avs. It also helped that an amazing rivalry sprung up against the Detroit Red Wings in 1996 when Claude Lemieux of the Avs cheap-shotted Kris Draper against the boards in one of the games. It led to some amazing games between the two teams over the next several years, including some of the best hockey fights I have ever witnessed. So, in honor of the rivalry being renewed tonight…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDWmpde19R0&hl=en]