There will be times when a scene cuts and you realize that your nails are dug into the palm of fist-shaped hands. Assuredly, you will catch yourself smiling at the demise of Claude Lemieux. There’s a decent chance you’ll cry.
No matter which direction it moves you, “E60: Unrivaled” will move you. It will rock you, roll you and rip your Red Wings heart in two.
The Detroit News received an advanced screening of the ESPN documentary detailing the Detroit Red Wings-Colorado Avalanche rivalry, which will air for the first time at a viewing party at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday and nationwide on Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN.
Despite the emotional charge this documentary provides, “Unrivaled,” to some degree, feels unfinished. See what we mean in this spoiler-free look, as we give you five things to watch for when it airs this weekend.
1. Context is key
As time passes, the Red Wings and Avalanche rivalry is distilled into a main characteristic: Violence (to be fair, there was a lot of it — and it was awesome). But that doesn’t really paint the whole picture of what elevated this rivalry into elite status. These were two of the NHL’s best teams; they simply happened to bloody hate each other.
“Unrivaled” does a good job of not only highlighting that, but also noting the Hollywood-like narratives that made this rivalry so unique: From the Red Wings expediting a trade of Patrick Roy from Montreal to their own detriment, to Claude Lemieux winning the Conn Smythe with New Jersey when the Devils beat the Red Wings in 1995, to the little bumps in the road that sent these two teams completely off track, “Unrivaled” gives an intense background check on the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry in a very compelling way.
2. Cast of characters
If you saw the “Unrivaled” trailer circulating social media a few weeks back, you’re already aware that they brought out all the big guns to get this thing done: Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, Scotty Bowman, Marc Crawford, one Vladimir Konstantinov.
It’s a number of surprise guests that really manage to set the stage and add life to this thing, including our own Bob Wojnowski, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and hockey legend Brian Burke, whose old-school hockey commentary provides some excellent color to this documentary.
More: How Wings-Avalanche brawl at the Joe echoes 25 years later
3. Emotions still run hot
“Unrivaled” centers on the present-day friendship of Lemieux and Darren McCarty. It’s a helpful tool that throws a bucket of cold water on the rivalry and allows the audience to relive it with fresh perspective.
But a long pause when Kris Draper is asked if he’s forgiven Lemieux at the beginning of the film, and the twisting of Yzerman’s face when he admits Colorado had Detroit’s number in the early days of the rivalry, are telling signs that even 25 years later, this rivalry still burns hot in some respects.
4. Vlady gets his flowers
Russian defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov was a menace on the ice. Before his devastating accident following the 1997 Stanley Cup win, many — including Crawford, the Avalanche coach — believed he was on a trajectory to be better than Nicklas Lidstrom, who you may now know as a seven-time Norris Trophy winner that goes by the nickname “The Perfect Human.”
“Unrivaled” brings Konstantinov back into the fold for this documentary and does a good job of adding to the lore of a man who most of the newer generation knows nothing about, highlights his current-day struggles and what it meant to win it all in 1998.
5. ‘Unrivaled’ feels unfinished
Detroit’s 1997-98 season is an emotional story, and “Unrivaled” sheds some interesting commentary from the Colorado side, but that’s pretty much where this documentary ends. The 2002 Western Conference Final in which Detroit beat Colorado 7-0 in Game 7 to end the rivalry once and for all en route to taking a 3-2 Stanley Cup lead over the course of the rivalry? It’s a mere footnote before the credits.
Sure, the violent hatred had mostly subsided and Lemieux was in Phoenix by that point, but Wings fans might be disappointed that their final victory over Colorado was left out — especially given that from a narrative standpoint, it’s the perfect bookend to a story that essentially begins with Detroit scoring nine goals on Roy to end his career in Montreal.
Nolan Bianchi is a freelance writer.