Ode to the Joe: Hockey's 20 most memorable moments at Joe Louis Arena

Of any moment to occur within the walls of Joe Louis Arena, there might not be one more glorious than when the Detroit Red Wings re-emerged as champions. After a classic series with the Philadelphia Flyers, the Cup returned to Motown.

Mr. Hockey's career in Detroit dated before the Joe Louis Arena days. There was a very large crowd to see him, however, when the Joe hosted the NHL All-Star Game in 1980. It remains the only time that the arena hosted the midseason festivities. 

Yzerman's shot from the blue line is a beautiful goal in general. That it came during double-overtime in a scoreless Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues makes it one of the most amazing goals in NHL playoff history. 

Every barn has to get its start somewhere. Before the Joe gets knocked down, it's worth it to look back at its inaugural tilt on Dec. 27, 1979. The Red Wings lost to the Blues 3-2.

Yes, hockey is a team game. It isn't possible for one player to win the whole game on his own, unless we are talking about Detroit's 5-4 victory over the Washington Capitals in 1996, when Sergei Fedorov scored all five of the Red Wings' goals. 

Just a couple years before winning the Cup, Detroit ended a 29-year drought by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. It was not an easy task however and took Slava Kozlov's tie-breaking goal at 2:25 of the second overtime on June 11, 1995, to get the Red Wings there. 

The tradition of throwing dead octopi onto the ice started in the '50s. But the practice moved with the Red Wings into the Joe, with a few cephalopods being thrown onto the ice on opening night in 1979.

Of all the madness between the Red Wings and the Avalanche, nothing summarized the magnitude of their rivalry like the Brawl in Hockeytown. On March 26, 1997, the clubs engaged in a nearly 15-minute battle that left many players bloodied. 

All of Joe Louis Arena was heavy with the passing of Gordie Howe in 2016. On June 14, NHLers and fans alike gathered to pay their respects.

Goalie fights don't happened very often, but when they do, they are a sight to behold. The tense rivalry between the Red Wings and Avalanche bubbled over on April 1, 1998, with a line-on-line tussle. Then Patrick Roy and Chris Osgood met near center ice for one of the best goalie fights ever. 

He is currently the cool and collected GM for the Tampa Bay Lightning, but Steve Yzerman will forever be remembered as one of the greatest Detroit Red Wings ever, the player responsible for ending the "Dead Wings" era. On Jan. 2, 2007, Joe Louis Arena held court for Yzerman's retirement ceremony.

As you might have guessed, the celebration following consecutive Cup wins was a big to-do. At the 1998 celebration, past Red Wings joined in the festivities. Most notably, Hall of Famers Ted Lindsay and "Mr. Hockey" Gordie Howe carried the Stanley Cup out to captain — and future Hall of Famer — Steve Yzerman. 

Don't let the civility of the photo fool you — there was no love lost in the Red Wings' rivalry with the Colorado Avalanche. Tensions were extra high headed into Game 7 at the Joe with the series tied up at three games apiece. The Red Wings emerged victorious on home ice, demolishing the Avs 7-0. 

Naturally, winning two Stanley Cups in two consecutive seasons was a means for celebration. In October 1998, the Red Wings lifted another banner into the Joe Louis Arena rafters. (They would put two more up there the following decade.)

Apparently, one championship win wasn't enough for Steve Yzerman and Co. Detroit reprised its 1997 Cup win with a victory the following season. 

After the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in 2002, coach Scotty Bowman decided to "hang them up." Well, kind of. Before completely retiring, Bowman threw on a pair of skates and took a lap around the ice with Lord Stanley's Mug hoisted over his head. 

It was an emotional time in Motown when coach Mike Babcock left to work elsewhere. So when Babs returned to face his old team as the bench boss for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Red Wings honored him with a two-minute tribute video. 

As far as modern-day Red Wings are concerned, Nicklas Lidstrom was one of the staples. He contributed to four of Detroit's Stanley Cup-winning seasons and won seven Norris Trophies. In March 2014, after his retirement, his No. 5 jersey was raised into the Joe Louis Arena rafters.

In one of the more somber moments in the Joe's hockey history, Jiri Fischer halted a tilt between the Red Wings and Predators in 2005 when he collapsed on the team bench mid-game. After being carried out of the building on a stretcher and transported to Detroit Receiving Hospital, it was reported that Fischer had suffered a seizure. This was one of the first instances in which an NHL game was canceled due to a medical emergency. 

Many titans sported the Red Wings sweater during the team's tenure at Joe Louis Arena. The modern-day Goliath — and all-around insane hockey player — was hands down Pavel Datsyuk. It's hard to pin down just one amazing dangle or goal the two-way player produced. But this highlight reel does a pretty good job. (Just check out how he splits the defense on the Joe's ice in the very first highlight!)