Steve Yzerman is apparently OK. The same can't be said of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Returning from a leg injury, the Detroit captain scored on his first shift and added two assists to lead the Red Wings over the Lightning 5-4 Thursday night
``I just wanted to get back playing, particularly before going over to the Olympics,'' said Yzerman, who missed three games with an injury to his left leg. ``The leg feels fine.''

The Lightning, on the other hand, are trying to shake off an 0-14-2 stretch that has matched a club record set earlier this season. Their last victory came on Dec. 30.

``We don't have a lot of confidence right now,'' Tampa Bay's Mikael Renberg said of the Lightning, who have the NHL's worst record at 9-37-9. ``We have to learn how to win hockey games. The guys are working harder now.''

Elsewhere, it was St. Louis 3, Boston 1; Ottawa 3, Toronto 2; Colorado 4, Chicago 2; Philadelphia 6, Phoenix 2; Calgary 4, San Jose 2; and Los Angeles 3, New York Rangers 1.

Yzerman stole a pass by Bryan Marchment and put a wrist shot past Mark Fitzpatrick 1:39 into the game. The Red Wings' captain assisted on Anders Eriksson's power-play goal at 6:09, giving Detroit a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Yzerman later assisted on one of two power-play goals by Vyacheslav Kozlov in the second period.

``We're fortunate Yzerman played, or we wouldn't have won the game,'' Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman said. ``He had a jump in his step.''

The Red Wings improved to 7-1-1 at Tampa Bay. The Lightning's only home win over the Red Wings was the first meeting, on Nov. 11, 1992.

It was the second game in two nights for the Lightning, who broke a 13-game losing streak with a 3-3 tie Wednesday night at Carolina.