There he was Wednesday night, in the Wings' 5-4 overtime win over Los Angeles. He scored the first Wings goal, his first goal of the season. He took a regular shift on the power-play for the first time. In the fastest-paced game the Wings have played, he kept up fine.

It was the ninth game Yzerman has played this season, and the seventh straight since coming back from a groin injury. But this was the first time he seemed anything like himself.

"I just welcome him back," coach Mike Babcock said.

It was Babcock, of course, who was responsible for limiting Yzerman's playing time in the games before Wednesday. Yzerman really didn't deserve more time, and he didn't get it.

But this week, Babcock said, Yzerman came to him and said he's feeling stronger.

"He said he was skating well, and that his leg doesn't bother him," Babcock said.

So Babcock made a decision. Yzerman replaced Mikael Samuelsson on the Red Wings' second power-play unit. He got more shifts overall. He played a season-high 15 minutes Wednesday.

"He was important, and he played important," Babcock said. "I think he's ready to go, and he's really going to help our offense."