The Detroit Red Wings had gotten the best of Patrick Roy in the past, and they lost to him a time or two. In May 1997, the Wings needed to make something happen here, with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final on the line to whomever won this series.
If the stakes couldn't raise any higher, let's remember that the Avs upended the Wings the previous season, so Steve Yzerman and Company wanted to get even. But Game 1 came and went, and, as you may've expected from this article's headline, it didn't go the Red Wings way.
And they really didn't want to let Roy beat them twice in as many seasons with another Final looming. But in this one, Yzerman and the Red Wings found themselves in a 2-2 deadlock late in the final frame, so going down two games to nothing was a real possibility.
But Yzerman had the puck on his stick, and if you're the best player on the team in a situation like this with the stakes so high, you do the only thing that makes sense: call your own number and take the puck home. Of course, that's what Yzerman did.
Steve Yzerman scored a series-shifting goal for the Red Wings in Game 2 of the '97 Conference Final
After he made one sick move deep in his own zone, Yzerman took the puck up the ice and skated out toward the boards, keeping the puck slightly to his left. And he put it so close to an opposing Avalanche player's skates and under his stick just so he'd have a chance to make a big play.
Another Avs player drifted back toward Yzerman, but he managed to get the shot off under that player's stick, The shot rebounded off of Roy, and the puck took off diagonally and to the right.
Yzerman, now behind the net, regained possession, and took a second shot. That one banked off Roy, but found twine, giving the Red Wings a 3-2 lead late. Not to mention, the Wings were staring at a 2-0 deficit earlier in the game, so Yzerman delivered the game-winning goal in dramatic comeback fashion.
Nearly three minutes after Yzerman's goal, Darren McCarty sealed the game, and the Wings tied the sreies 1-1. The duel then shifted back to Detroit, where the Wings won both contests and took a commanding 3-1 lead.
After losing in a shutout in Game 5 when the Avs hosted the Wings, Detroit clinched the series four games to two in Game 6, sending them to the Stanley Cup Final, where they would sweep the Philadelphia Flyers.
