The Detroit Red Wings will host their final game at Joe Louis Arena on Sunday, ending a run of 38 years in the building named after the former heavyweight champion boxer.
The Joe is one of only two NHL arenas without a corporate sponsorship name, the other being Madison Square Garden in New York. Soon to be replaced by Little Caesars Arena, it has provided the setting for many a memorable moment since 1979, with these five serving as some of the best in recent years.
Fight night at the Joe
In a game that would have made the arena's namesake proud, the Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche settled some scores in one of the most memorable regular-season games of all time.
It all started the previous spring, when Claude Lemieux drilled Kris Draper into the boards from behind in Game 6 of the Western Conference final, a series won by Colorado en route to a Stanley Cup win.
The following season, in the final meeting between the two clubs, all hell broke loose.
Detroit won the game in overtime, and later credited it for bringing them together as a team on the path to what was soon to come.
June 7, 1997
After a 42-year drought, the Red Wings finally climbed back to the top of the heap, capping a four-game sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers in the Cup Final.
Darren McCarty's game-winning goal was really quite something, as was the smile on Steve Yzerman's face when he hoisted the Cup for the first of his three Cups as team captain.
Bowman's last stand
The 2001-02 Red Wings roster was loaded with Hall of Fame talent, beginning with head coach Scotty Bowman.
After Detroit defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Cup Final, Yzerman handed the Cup to the legendary bench boss, who had just won his ninth championship as a coach.
Bowman skated the Cup around the Joe Louis ice, and subsequently announced his retirement.
End of a great run
While this one didn't end in Detroit's favor, Game 7 of the 2009 Cup Final was one of the great climactic tilts in hockey history and was capped by Marc-Andre Fleury's ridiculous save off the stick of Niklas Lidstrom in the dying seconds.
This marked the first Cup win for the Pittsburgh Penguins during the Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin era, and the end of a long run of success for the Red Wings, who'll hope to carve out a new legacy in the new rink.
Mr. Hockey's public visitation
Almost a year ago, family, friends, and fans flocked to Detroit's Joe Louis Arena for Tuesday's public visitation for Gordie Howe, who passed away on June 10, 2016 at age 88.
The entry line began forming in the wee hours of that morning, and the folks who came to pay their respects to Mr. Hockey flowed in and out of the rink for almost 13 hours.
Once inside, the multi-generational crowd filed up to the stage, offering their condolences to the Howe family and their own personal tributes to the hockey legend.
The Red Wings will host the Devils in the final game, and will look to make another lasting memory for the Detroit faithful.
(Photos courtesy Getty Images)
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