They said farewell in fine style.
The Detroit Red Wings closed down Joe Louis Arena with a 4-1 victory on Sunday over the New Jersey Devils.
“When you picture the last game at the Joe, except if it would have been Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final, this was very nice,… Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “I thought the way the whole season has gone and not making the playoffs and now we can … they did a really good job with this weekend.
“I think this building deserved it. It was fun to bring back all the players that have been here, and the coaches. It was a perfect ending on otherwise not too good season.…
Dozens of past members of the organization were on hand for the post-game closing ceremonies, taking the chance to embrace the building this team has called home since 1979 one last time.
Longtime Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman politely described the Joe as “beautiful in its simplicity.…
Darren McCarty, a four-time Stanley Cup winner in the rink, was more blunt in his descriptive.
“It’s a dump,… McCarty said. “But it’s our dump.…
“We take pride whenever people talk about that because it’s sort of like the way they talk about your city. So we just let them come in and hopefully beat their ass, let them be done. It’s just because they’re jealous. That’s why they talked bad about Detroit, because they’re jealous.…
Mike Vernon, Detroit’s goalie when the Wings won the Stanley Cup in 1996-97, the team’s first title since 1955, felt the Joe was electric.
“This building is special because it packs in 20,000 screaming fans,… Vernon said. “It’s exciting to play in. They’re very vocal and they can get you up for the game. It was fun playing here. It got your blood going every time. That was the nice part. “My first game at Joe Louis wasn’t a great experience. I was with the Calgary Flames and called up. I only lasted two periods, let in four goals. I didn’t get off to a good start but I think I finished strong.…
It’s been a tough year to be a Red Wing. Gordie Howe, the greatest Red Wing of them all, died in June. Mike Ilitch the owner who brought the franchise back from the dead, died last month. The team missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1989-90 season.
“It’s been a very disappointing and a tough season in a lot of ways, of course,… Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “Starting last summer with the passing of Gordie and then the passing of Mr. I, those are another two things that makes the season even tougher.
“Of course we would have liked to have kept the (playoff) streak going, obviously, but in saying that, I think the Joe got a pretty good farewell tonight.…
Hank Is Grand Zetterberg played his 1,000th NHL game, collected a goal and an assist and was named the game’s first star.
“That it ended up to be this game, the last game at the Joe, a lot of guys came back. I actually thought it was for me,… Zetterberg joked. “It couldn’t be a better game, because I played a lot of games with a lot of players that were in this weekend, so they’re a big part of those 1,000 games.…
Shea Shoots, Shea Scores Entering the day, Wings forward Riley Sheahan was destined to be an answer to a trivia question for years to come.
He’s much happier with what the final answer to that question will be.
Goalless through 79 games entering the day, Sheahan tallied twice, including the final goal ever scored at Joe Louis Arena. Had he not scored, Sheahan, who tallied on his 107th shot of the season, would have been the first forward in NHL history to take 100 shots on goal and not score a goal.
“It’s pretty cool,… Sheahan said of netting the final tally at the Joe. “There’s a lot of things I’ll remember in my career and it’s definitely one of them.
“I guess in the bigger picture, it’s unfortunate that they came so late.…
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