For one night, the Avalanche-Red Wings rivalry was alive again. (Getty Images)
For one night, the Avalanche-Red Wings rivalry was alive again. (Getty Images)

Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, there may have been no fiercer rivalry in all of sports than the one between the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings. Frequent playoff meetings and multiple controversial run-ins between the two teams built up a lot of bad blood and some of the most entertaining games the NHL has ever seen. On Friday night, NHL fans got a chance to see that same old cast of characters once again.

As part of the Stadium Series game between the current-day Red Wings and Avalanche at Coors Field on Saturday, alumni teams featuring players almost exclusively from those rivalry years played Friday night. A lot of the most familiar names from the era were right there for all to see once again. 

Unfortunately, in more recent years, this particular rivalry has cooled. Now in opposite conferences, the likelihood of the Avs and Wings meeting in the playoffs anytime soon seems low. But the passion still lingers for the fans of the two teams and it certainly lingered for the players that were part of this, too.

An announced crowd of 43,319 -- only a few thousand shy of a sellout at the Colorado Rockies' park -- was on hand to see the legends of yesteryear go head-to-head. Here’s a look at some of the great moments from the 2016 Avalanche-Red Wings Alumni Game, which the Avalanche won 5-2.

1. Both teams legitimately wanted to win this game

If you saw Patrick Roy’s face before the game when they were introducing players, you knew that this was no ordinary alumni game. These guys were going to take it a little seriously. When the puck dropped, both teams were clearly playing to win. One more chance to get one over on your big rival was certainly an opportunity these guys relished.

Avalanche alumni were dropping down and blocking shots (which they had to do because they were getting badly outshot, not unlike Roy's modern-day Avs). Ray Bourque dumped Tomas Holmstrom right on his keister at one point, among a few other collisions. There was some real effort being put forth and a few times it looked like there could be a little extra rough stuff after the whistles.

Sure, the pace was way slower than it used to be, but the years did very little to cool the hard feelings between these two clubs. After the game, Brendan Shanahan appeared legitimately upset that the Red Wings lost. These guys are still competitors after all.

Roy made 20 saves on 21 shots over two periods, looking very much like his old self between the pipes. He almost didn’t want to come out of the game to give old backup Craig Billington a chance. Roy actually said after the game he spent 10-15 practices with the Avalanche team he is coaching in pads to prepare for the alumni night.

Even after all these years, the fire still burns for these guys.

2. The player introductions were awesome

The crowd at Coors Field was into it right away. The hometown Avalanche fans showed the old Red Wings that there has been no love lost. The boo birds were raining down through each of the introductions and the Red Wings alumni were eating it up.

Brendan Shanahan raised his hands to the crowd to allow himself to bathe in the boos. Darren McCarty, who famously tried to pummel Claude Lemieux in the line brawl that became the signature fight of this rivalry, saluted the crowd, which seemed to boo him the loudest.

Chris Chelios went full WWE-style heel and decided to answer the boos with boos of his own.

Kris Draper, who was the guy that Lemieux checked from behind providing the spark that lit the powder keg, simply blew a bubble with his gum to the camera. It was just perfect.

Meanwhile, Patrick Roy’s aforementioned game face was totally on.

3. Joe Sakic’s wrist shot is still phenomenal

If there’s one thing that stands out about Joe Sakic’s immense skill set, it was the release on his wrist shot. The current Avalanche general manager is now 46 years old and last played an NHL game in 2008-09, but that shot hasn’t left him.

With the Avalanche and Red Wings tied, Sakic took advantage of some open ice and ripped his famous wrister right past Red Wings goalie Ty Conklin, who never even saw it. What a snipe from the captain.

Via theScore.com:

4. Steve Yzerman’s still got it, too

Not to be outdone, the other current NHL general manager in the game, Steve Yzerman scored one of the two goals for the Red Wings. The Tampa Bay Lightning GM tied the score early with an easy tap in. It was still pretty great to see both of the legendary No. 19s get on the score sheet.

Yzerman’s goal also led to this spectacular image.

Like no time has passed.

By the way, there was no word if Yzerman and Sakic discussed any trade plans during the ceremonial opening faceoff.

5. In a weird way, this game may have brought some closure to the rivalry

Both of these teams wanted to win the game. Only one could, and perhaps fittingly it was the home team. The crowd loved every second of it. But when the game ended, the two teams let their guards down again. They were just a group of ex-players again, living in a moment many of them probably never thought they would see.

Roy remarked to NHL Network after the game that he had never played a game in front of that many people. This was a huge thrill for all involved and they gave the home crowd a good show. The bad blood was put aside, even if some saltiness won't totally wash away.

The two teams joined at center ice to salute the incredible crowd and even all posed intermingled for a big photo.

It was a "we good? Yeah, we're good" kind of moment and gave the end of the game much more of a celebratory vibe than the awkward contentiousness we saw sometimes between the whistles.

It’s pretty rare to get moments like this, but if this event proved anything, it's how much these players from our collective childhoods or adolescence tend to captivate our imaginations to this day. Even if they’re 20 years older and a few steps slower, there’s something about seeing “SAKIC” and “YZERMAN” over a No. 19 jersey or just seeing Peter Forsberg and Nicklas Lidstrom skate again.

Without knowing how to time travel, this is not a bad alternative.