ESPN Showcases Red Wings-Avalanche Rivalry In New '30 For 30' Trailer

DETROIT — ESPN released a 30 for 30 trailer Friday morning showcasing the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche's heated rivalry from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The E60 documentary, "Unrivaled," the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry, focuses on the battles the two teams had during what many dubbed as the most fierce rivalry in all of sports.

The roughly 2-minute trailer is full of highlights and interviews from players of both teams who endured those big hits during the height of the rivalry that so often drew bad blood. Some of the players highlighted in the documentary were NHL legends from both teams such as, Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, Darren McCarty, Claude Lemieux, as well as the playoff battles between the two.

ESPN said the documentary will air in June, but did not give a specific date.

The two teams faced each other in the playoffs in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002 with the Red Wings winning in 1997 and 2002 en route to the Stanley Cup. Overall, the Red Wings won three cups (1997, 1998 and 2002) and the Avalanche won two cups (1996, 2001).

The rivalry started during game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference Finals when Avalanche forward Claude Lemieux checked Red Wings forward Kris Draper from behind, smashing his face into the boards. Draper was immediately taken off the ice and ultimately needed reconstructive facial surgery.

The Red Wings would not forgive Lemieux, and in a 1997 regular season game, Red Wings forward Darren McCarty went after Lemieux, knocking him down to the ice and punching him in the face. Several more fights broke out in the game, which is famously known as "Fight Night at the Joe."

Tensions in the rivalry only escalated from there, as ESPN commentator Gary Thorne can be heard saying in the trailer, "these kinds of things, just seem to keep happening when these two teams play."

The trailer ends as a producer asks former Red Wings defensemen Vladimir Konstantinov, who was severely injured in a limousine crash after the Red Wings won the 1998 Stanley Cup, with a question.

"What’s your favorite memory of that rivalry with the Avalanche?" the producer asks.

"Beat them," Konstantinov answers.