May 3, 2004
BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
Kris Draper spoke for the city.
"Stevie," he said, "just doesn't stay down."
But there was Steve Yzerman, writhing on the ice, after getting hit in his left eye with a puck Saturday afternoon. It had to be serious. Stevie just doesn't stay down.
Yzerman, the Red Wings' captain, will not play again in this Calgary series. It is conceivable, with Yzerman's contract up and a lockout looming and his health still in doubt for this playoff run, that Yzerman's Red Wings career is over.
Whether or not he plays again, Yzerman's actions in the last two days say all you need to know about the Captain.
When the Wings returned to their dressing room after the second period, they were stunned to find Yzerman, eye patch on, firing them up. And after Yzerman underwent 4 1/2 hours of surgery Saturday night, he asked doctors if he could travel with the team to Calgary on Sunday -- even though he knew he couldn't play.
The doctors told him not to fly.
I assume he then asked if he could take the bus.
"This is probably the toughest situation we've ever had," Draper said. "Usually we have Stevie with us."
He won't be there tonight, with the Wings needing a victory to extend their season.
How will his teammates react? The truth is, even they don't know.
"It's not just about us going in and winning a Game 6," Draper said. "There's a lot surrounding it."
The word most often used to describe Yzerman's leadership style is "presence." He's not a big talker, but that only adds to the aura -- the best leaders have an air of mystery about them.
When the Wings gather in their dressing room tonight, with their season on the edge of a cliff, Yzerman won't be there. Everybody will realize it.
That's presence.
How do you block it out?
It should be a little easier than it was Saturday, when it looked like Yzerman could suffer permanent eye damage.
"The puck drops, you're on the ice -- it's the furthest thing from your mind," forward Darren McCarty said. "It doesn't change how you approach the game. After the game, it's more of a concern.
"And that's what he would expect out of us. We'd be letting him down if it was the other way. He'd be like, 'What are you doing?' I mean, that's just not him. You hear of people that want you to continue to go on -- that's him. He wants us to win more than any of us. The Red Wings are Steve Yzerman."
The Wings have come back before, and they say that gives them confidence now. Fine -- that's what they're supposed to say. But before anybody buys this idea that the Wings always bounce back like a Super Ball, let's look at their history:
In 2002, they came back from a 3-2 deficit to beat Colorado . . . but in 2001, they fell behind 3-2 to Los Angeles, then lost Game 6.
In 2002, they came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Vancouver . . . but last year, they fell behind 2-0 to Anaheim, then got swept.
In the last six seasons, the Wings have fallen behind in seven series. Their record in those series is 3-4 -- and that includes coming back from a measly 1-0 deficit. When trailing after at least two games, the Wings are 2-4.
Stevie just doesn't stay down, but sometimes the Red Wings do.
Besides the emotional impact of losing Yzerman, there are practical ramifications. Robert Lang has a hand injury and couldn't take face-offs Saturday; without centers Yzerman and Lang, the Wings aren't the same team on face-offs.
If you don't win face-offs, you don't control the puck, and that's the lifeblood of this team.
Oh, and it's not like the Wings played great with Yzerman.
"We stunk out of the gate (Saturday), and he was around," McCarty said.
If the Wings stink out of the gate tonight, the season will hit the finish line. In Detroit, thousands of hockey fans will watch and wonder, including one pretty famous one.
"Knowing Steve," Draper said. "he'll be on his cell phone, calling everybody and wishing everybody good luck."