In the spring of 1997 — a quarter-century ago — the Detroit Red Wings embarked on their quest to end a 42-year Stanley Cup drought.
The Free Press has commemorated that historic quest with a new book: “Stanleytown: The Inside Story of How the Stanley Cup Returned to the Motor City After 41 Frustrating Seasons.”
Day 14: April 29, 1997
The backstory: The Red Wings returned to practice during the day before their next opponent was determined throughout the night. A pair of Game 7’s — Edmonton at Dallas and Phoenix at Anaheim — finally set the pairings for the Western Conference semifinals.
At Detroit: Since they didn’t know whether to prepare for the Stars, Mighty Ducks or Coyotes when taking the ice at Joe Louis Arena, the Wings played each other. Their scrimmage featured the line combinations that were so successful in Game 5 and 6 victories over St. Louis: the Russians, Steve Yzerman with Brendan Shanahan and Kris Draper’s Grind Line.
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At Dallas: With a victory over the seventh-seeded Oilers, the second-seeded Stars would have played the third-seeded Wings and owned home-ice advantage. But the Stars lost in overtime for the third time in the series, 4-3. Todd Marchant scored the game-winner at 12:26 on a breakaway, moments after Edmonton’s Curtis Joseph made a spectacular, diving backhanded glove save on Joe Nieuwendyk. “That was the greatest save I’ve ever seen,” said Oilers forward Doug Weight, a Warren native. The Oilers earned a semifinal matchup with the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche. And the Oilers’ victory ensured the Wings would play the fourth-seeded Mighty Ducks or the fifth-seeded Coyotes.
At Anaheim: Through six games, Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya had scored 10 of the Ducks’ 14 goals. So it was a surprise when Dave Karpa’s slap shot from the point beat Nikolai Khabibulin only 3:11 into Game 7. When the Ducks, in their first playoff series since…