Hollywood ending: Yzerman rides to rescue, scoring with 1.7 seconds left

October 10, 2003

BY NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER




Thursday night opened with the usual opening-night introductions. The fans cheered for all their Red Wings, but they cheered loudest for their venerable, creaky-kneed captain, Steve Yzerman. Normally stoic in such situations, Yzerman raised his stick in acknowledgment.

'I wasn't sure how I was going to play -- or how I felt, for that matter,' Yzerman said. 'So I just wanted to get the game going.'

Yzerman felt good, played well and, in the end, got the game going all right. The night closed not with the old Steve Yzerman, the 38-year-old who might be beginning his final season, but with the old Steve Yzerman, the guy who could win a game for you in one rush of speed and skill.

With the score tied and regulation dying down, Yzerman picked up the puck deep in the Detroit zone. He skated up the left wing and sent it ahead for Ray Whitney. He got it back in the Los Angeles zone, turned in the right circle and fired it past goaltender Roman Cechmanek with 1.7 seconds left, lifting the Wings to a 3-2 victory at Joe Louis Arena.

'There's no better way to start the season,' coach Dave Lewis said. 'It was a remarkable play, considering all that Steve has gone through.'

Yzerman pumped his arms in celebration as the fans roared.

'It's pretty exciting,' said Yzerman, who played only 16 games last regular season after having his right knee radically repaired. 'I got two goals all of last year, and neither of them were all that pretty.'

It was as if the whole game served to set up the moment.

Jiri Fischer gave the Wings a 1-0 lead on a power play 10:10 into the first period. Eric Belanger and Zigmund Palffy responded 12:11 into the second period and 9:54 into the third, respectively, giving the Kings a 2-1 lead. But Pavel Datsyuk tied the game on a power play with 3:45 to go, tipping Nicklas Lidstrom's shot from the top of the right circle. And then came Yzerman.

'Guys like (Yzerman) have a knack of finding ways to win,' Chris Chelios said. 'Hopefully that's a sign of things to come for Yzie. He deserves it.'

Yzerman was excited about more than just the goal. He was at right wing because it wouldn't be as hard on his knee as center, but during the game he asked assistant coach Joe Kocur if he could switch back to his former position. By the third period, back he was, and he was yelling at players and officials so much that Lewis said, 'You could almost sense that the juices were bubbling inside him.'

'In the preseason at times I felt slow and not able to take off, and tonight I felt like I could take off and keep up with the play,' said Yzerman, who played 15:10. 'I was really pleased, because that's what I was worried about the most.'

Forward Sean Avery, whom the Wings traded to Los Angeles last season, was asked before the game why he was wearing No. 19, the same number as Yzerman.

'It's the tribute to Mr. Yzerman's last year in the NHL, the swan song, the stick-collecting tour,' Avery said with a smirk.

When Yzerman heard that after the game, he smiled and said of Avery, 'He may lead the league in quotes this year.'

On this night, at least, Yzerman had the last laugh