The Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings renewed this week what
once was the most bitterly-fought rivalry in the NHL, one in which
plenty of blood was spilled over the years.

It isn't the same anymore, not without antagonists Claude Lemieux,
Patrick Roy or Adam Foote wearing Avalanche sweaters. And the Red Wings
no longer employ Darren McCarty and Mike Vernon.

The teams still play some pretty good games, but the Vancouver Canucks
- because of Todd Bertuzzi's attack against Steve Moore, coach Marc
Crawford's exit from Colorado and subsequent arrival in Vancouver, and
the fact the clubs are in the same division - probably have surpassed
the Red Wings as the Avalanche's top rival.

But before the Red Wings knocked off the Avalanche 7-3 at Joe Louis
Arena, much of the talk in the Colorado locker room centered around the
health of Detroit defenseman Jiri Fischer.

Fischer's heart stopped and it was shocked back into normal rhythm with
a defibrillator in Monday's game against Nashville. Fortunately, his
test results have been positive and he has left the hospital for home,
where he isn't permitted to take part in any physical activity for
between four and six weeks.

"It's unbelievable the kind of things that can happen," said the
Avalanche's Milan Hejduk, who like Fischer is from the Czech Republic.
They were teammates and roommates during last year's World Cup of
Hockey tournament and have played golf together.

"I know him really well," Hejduk said. "He's in unbelievable shape. He doesn't have much body fat; he's really ripped."

Fischer is only 25 and, at 6-feet-5, 229 pounds, is considered the best-conditioned player on the Red Wings.

"We were watching on TV before our game," Hejduk said. "The announcers
were saying that maybe he got hit with a puck in the throat, but
obviously that wasn't it. We saw people running around and trying to
help him. It was a very scary moment."

Said Avalanche captain Joe Sakic: "We were watching in the dressing
room and saw it develop. (Players) just went silent. Everybody is so
excited to hear that he's doing much better."

Jean Martineau, Avalanche senior vice president for communications and
team services, said every NHL team is required to staff games with
emergency personnel and an automated external defibrillator.

He said the Avalanche medical and training staff recently held a drill
for the kind of same kind of emergency that took place Monday.

Let's hope no NHL team ever has to go through what Fischer and the Red Wings just did.

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