DETROIT — The party started before noon in Detroit, and no final buzzer was going to end it.

The horn sounded after regulation of the Detroit Red Wings’ season-ending 4-1 victory Sunday against the New Jersey Devils, the final hockey game at Joe Louis Arena, and nobody in attendance wanted to leave. On this day, the score was secondary and the end of the game was just the start.

Replete with a full red-carpet ceremony, almost everyone who played a role in making the building memorable played a role Sunday.

Steve Yzerman dropped the puck. Ted Lindsay stood side-by-side with current Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg, whom the Red Wings honored before the game, the 1,000th of Zetterberg’s career.

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Darren McCarty appropriately sat in the penalty box one final time, smiling and saying he “spent a lot of time there.” Scotty Bowman showed up, and so did Niklas Lidstrom, Joe Kocur, Vladimir Konstantinov, Dino Ciccarelli, and many more.

It was even electric outside of the arena before fans were allowed in.

“Just coming into the building tonight — people lined up outside the Joe — you had goosebumps seeing that,” Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “That was very special, and something I think we will forever bring with us.”

Hours before the game, the cheapest seats cost a minimum of $220 on the secondary market. The building was full long before the puck dropped, and fans counted down the final seconds of the third period. More than a dozen octopi hit the ice during the evening.

It was the final game of Detroit’s first losing season in 26 years, and the game itself meant nothing for two teams who missed the playoffs by significant margins. But the atmosphere screamed Game 7.

“It’s a perfect ending in an otherwise not-so-good season,” said Zetterberg, who scored in the game.

The hero of the day was an unlikely one: Riley Sheahan.

Sheahan — who almost became the first NHL player to take more than 100 shots without scoring in an entire season — ironically scored twice in the final game, including the first goal of the evening.

“When he got his first one, I almost jumped out of my skates,” said Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard, who had 24 saves in the game. “I was so happy for him. He had that smile from ear to ear. You could see it from the bench.”

Tomas Tatar followed a few shifts later by netting a rebound off a Gustav Nyquist shot to give Detorit a 2-0 lead.

Zetterberg scored in the second with help from a pass from Nyquist, and Detroit took a 3-0 lead into the third.

Devils defenseman John Moore scored 1:15 into the third, and Taylor Hall looked as if he had a goal 14 seconds later, but a review overturned the goal because the officials determined Hall kicked the puck.

Sheahan — who was goalless through 79 games — then scored again with fewer than three minutes to play, pouncing on a rebound to seal Detroit’s victory.

“That was the perfect player to have that,” Zetterberg said.

After what has been a long, unlucky season, Sheahan closed Joe Louis Arena with his most memorable night as a pro. He scored the final goal in the arena’s history.

“It’s pretty cool,” Sheahan said. “There’s a lot of things I’ll remember in my career. That’s definitely one of them.”

The final minutes were an outright celebration, and not just of the result, but of the organization’s history and all of its good fortune in Joe Louis Arena.

The weight of the night was not lost on the current players and coaches.

“We talk all the time about how lucky we are to play and work and coach in the Detroit Red Wing organization,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “We embrace the great history we have here. You’ve got so much history beyond this building, but certainly in this building.”

Yzerman, who spoke after the game, told the fans they were “every bit” a part of the team’s success through the years.

The show was over-the-top in all regards, but one that ultimately fit. Like so many occasions before it, the home fans headed home glad to have been at Joe Louis Arena.

“Sometimes games don’t fall your way when that [build-up] happens, but we’re just so thankful we were able to win this game — win it for the fans, for the city of Detroit, everyone’s that made this building so special,” said Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader, a Michigan native.

“There were so many memories guys will take and hold onto forever. This building is very deserving. It’s been very special.”

Contact Nicholas Piotrowicz at: npiotrowicz@theblade.com, 724-6110, or on Twitter @NickPiotrowicz

First Published April 10, 2017, 4:21 a.m.