Old School Throw Down

Can you hold throwback Thursday on Sunday night? The Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings opted to turn back the clock Sunday at Little Caesars Arena, staging a pair of fistic encounters that no doubt warmed the hearts of those who can remember the hated rivalry between the two teams that thrived from 1996-2002. Detroit’s Tyler Bertuzzi and Colorado’s Ian Cole staged one bout, with Wings forward Anthony Mantha stepping up to tangle with Patrick Nemeth after Mantha felt that Nemeth had taken liberties with Detroit center Dylan Larkin. It was the first time since March 24, 2004 (Darren McCarty-Matthew Barnaby; Brendan Shanahan-Jim Cummins) that there had been multiple fights in a Wings-Avs game. But Detroit coach Jeff Blashill was more interested in what these tilts might mean for the future of his club than he was in any history lesson. “We’ll go a lot further with us sticking up for each other than any downside of losing some guys who are real good players, but we’re going to win in this room as a group and we’re going to win fighting for each other and sticking up for each other,… Blashill told Mlive.com. “We said that from Day One. That’s the way the game goes.… The short term resulted in a 2-0 Avs victory, but the Wings are confident that the entire weekend festivities, which also included some scraps Saturday against the Bruins as Detroit won in Boston for the first time in 12 games, will only bring this team closer as a group. “I think it’s great,… Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “You love to see that. Awesome.… DD 400 Detroit defenseman Danny DeKeyser played his 400th NHL game on Sunday. Not bad for an undrafted NCAA free agent. “I think it’s awesome,… Blashill said. “It just speaks to the different paths different players take.… Blashill coached DeKeyser at Western Michigan, but is the first to admit he didn’t see NHL written all over DeKeyser back then, “I didn’t think it was going to be this great freshman until I saw him on the ice for the very first time and I said, ‘Holy smokes, he’s got some special attributes,’ and he’s just kind of carried that forward,… Blashill said. “When he came to the NHL, I thought he’d be a good player, but he’s better than I thought, and he’s continued to do that. “This year Danny’s played really, really, good. He’s been one of the guys I think has really brought his game up to another level, his physicality has been real good, his consistency has been good. So, the fact that he’s got himself to 400 is impressive and he’s got lots of hockey in front of him.… Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer