It's been six years since the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche have lined up against each other in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote rejoining captain Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk this season as the only remaining members from the last Avalanche squad that faced off against the Red Wings in the postseason, this match up was inevitable.
After dueling in the postseason five times in a seven-year span, the rivalry between these teams is simmering, conjuring up memories of the past:
Patrick Roy duking it out with Mike Vernon at center ice toward the end of the 1997 season and following it up with an encore performance the follwing year against Chris Osgood.
Claude Lemieux crushing Kris Draper into the boards from behind during Game 6 of the 1996 conference finals, forcing Dino Ciccarelli to ask why he shook Lemieux's hand after the Avs eliminated the Wings that night.
Detroit responding a year later with Darren McCarty fighting Lemieux as the Red Wings captured the West and the Stanley Cup.
Although those moments are part of hockey's gloried testament to the bitterness of rivalries, it's unlikely the hatred between these teams will be rekindled to that extent.
The faces have largely changed, and the game has progressed into a test of discipline.
But let's hope that at least one game between the Wings and Avs this round agitates that animosity and reminds us why this is one of the best rivalries in sports.
