Photo by Erik Roush/MiHockey

Red Wings talk about the alumni game against the Avalanche

Photo by Erik Roush/MiHockey
Photo by Erik Roush/MiHockey

 

By Alyssa Girardi, Stefan Kubus and Michael Caples –

It may not have been the result they were hoping for, but members of the Red Wings’ alumni team said tonight’s game with the Avalanche was still something special.

The Wings’ old-timers fell to the Avalanche squad 5-2 in the NHL Stadium Series alumni game at Coors Field in Denver in front of 43,000-plus fans.

“I thought it was a great experience, being back with your old teammates again and playing against the Avalanche that you’ve had so many battles with,” Nick Lidstrom said after the game. “It was great to see so many fans for this game, too – I thought it was a great atmosphere out there.”

MORE: Former Red Wings, Avalanche renew rivalry in Stadium Series alumni game

Former captain Steve Yzerman, who scored the Red Wings’ first goal in the contest, said that both teams saluting the crowd in the third period was one of the top moments.

“It was kind of neat, honestly,” the Tampa Bay Lightning general manager said. “Down on the ice level, it’s not as loud in a big open stadium, it carries a little bit, but it was really a kind of special moment for us all. It’s been a pretty good rivalry and the chants with the fans and everybody in unison, that’s never happened before.”

 

Kris Draper said it was fun to relive some of the hockey from yesteryear – with particular praise for the line of Igor Larionov, Brendan Shanahan and Marty Lapointe, which contributed the Wings’ second goal.

“It was great,” Draper said. “I think both sides had a lot of fun. I thought the pace was pretty good. I think guys were getting up and down the ice pretty good, and some guys were, I thought Igor, Shanny and Marty were fun to watch, they did a lot of good things. Sakic coming down the left side – that’s Joe Sakic – and obviously [Peter] Forsberg was still snapping it around pretty good too. It was good though. It was awesome that we had such a great turnout on our end and I’m sure they’re obviously proud of the turnout they had on their end with the fans that were there.”

Draper admitted that it was a tiring experience, as well – especially with the high altitude in Denver.

“There were some pretty good battles down low, and you felt those,” he said. “I kind of felt that. The stops and starts and the battling, that’s where you get it. That air’s pretty thin. It’s true – it’s pretty thin.”  


Yzerman echoed Draper’s comments.

“Yeah, well you know what, I actually played in the one in Detroit a couple years ago and I felt worse actually tonight,” Yzerman said. “Obviously I’ve gotta get on the conditioning a little bit. It was a factor.”

Lidstrom – who looked like he could skate in the real NHL game tomorrow if the Wings needed him – said he was pleased with the pace of play.

“We did have quite a few shots, and the game, I thought there was going to be a little bit more scoring than what we saw,” Lidstrom said. “For us, I thought the pace was pretty good in the beginning, and then it kind of slowed down. I think you saw that guys were competitive, even towards the end when we were down a couple goals, I think the competitiveness came out.”

The Wings’ No. 5 also said it was weird to be on the ice with that specific opposition in a much calmer fashion.

“Yeah, it was,” Lidstrom said. “Usually it was a lot more heated than what we saw out there tonight. You saw a lot of smiles on the guys’ faces, a lot of guys had fun out there, and that’s what the guys wanted to get out of it, too.”