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Yzerman settles nicely into Grind Line role

Friday, February 20, 2004

By Ansar Khan

DETROIT -- When Detroit Red Wings coach Dave Lewis moved Steve Yzerman onto a line with Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby, it led to some wisecracks about whether the captain's face would soon appear on Grind Line T-shirts.

Yzerman didn't seem to immediately embrace the idea of playing on a checking line and wondered if it would be a short-lived experiment. But seven weeks later, Yzerman remains at right wing on the Grind Line, which lately has been the club's most effective unit, at both ends of the ice.

"It kind of seems weird, if you still want to call us the Grind Line, with Steve Yzerman on it," Maltby said, "but Kris and I are more than happy that he's playing with us."

Yzerman, Draper and Maltby have combined for seven goals and 12 points in the last four games.

"I think Stevie had to settle into the Grind Line role and he's responded nicely," Draper said. "In all seriousness, it's great to play with a guy like that. Lately we've been playing against the other team's top lines. It's been a nice combination and it's pretty neat looking over game in and game out and seeing that you're playing with Stevie Y."

One of the most prolific scorers in the history of the game, Yzerman once again showed he's a team player by accepting the role.

"He's helped the team considerably," associate coach Barry Smith said. "That line plays against the opposition's better players, trying to shut them down. With him on the line, it definitely gives them a little more offensive input."

Said Wings forward Steve Thomas: "Everyone in this room respects him for what he's done. Maybe he's not as effective as he was when he was younger, but he still goes out there and makes something happen every night."

The Wings weren't sure how Yzerman's reconstructed right knee would hold up this season. He started strong, with 11 goals and 11 assists in his first 27 games. He cooled off, however, after missing six games with a groin strain in mid-December. He seems to have gotten his second wind of late, and playing with the team's two best skaters has helped.

"Those two guys can cover more ice than the guys he's played with before," Smith said. "Playing the wing, especially the right side, is easier for him skating-wise. And he'll still be able to score goals because the opposition's better players generally don't play good defense."

The plan coming into the season was for Yzerman to rest the second night of back-to-back games and not practice much. Instead, he's sat out only one game while healthy and practices regularly. And he's produced more (16 goals, 36 points) than anyone anticipated.

"With his bum knee he may not be as quick as he used to be but if he has the puck, Kris and I can open the lane for him," Maltby said. "Or if the puck goes in (the offensive zone) we can do a little bit of the dirty work and let him grab the puck."

Defenseman Jason Woolley's sore back will force him to sit out for the second consecutive game tonight against St. Louis. He hopes to return for Monday's game in Edmonton. . . . Boyd Devereaux needed to be helped off the ice by trainers Thursday during practice when he took a forearm to the jaw from Chris Chelios during a drill. Chelios pleaded innocent: "He was falling. I didn't know I hit him in the head."