YZERMAN, RED WINGS ON VERGE OF SWEEP

Author: TOM CANAVAN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Article Text:

WASHINGTON -- His face has been shoved in the ice, he has been cross-checked in the back, slammed into the boards and knocked to the ice countless times.

Every time the Washington Capitals have had the opportunity to hit Steve Yzerman in the Stanley Cup Finals, they've done it.

But the Detroit Red Wings captain has gotten up every time and made the Capitals pay. Yzerman's play has put the Red Wings within a game of capturing their second straight Stanley Cup on Tuesday night. His league-leading 24 points (6 goals, 18 assists) also has put the 33-year-old on the verge of winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.

Typically, Yzerman downplayed the possibility of winning the award, noting that goaltender Chris Osgood and defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom were also good candidates.

That's the kind of response defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov expects from the teammate he calls a ``class act.''

Yzerman has been the best player on the ice in the finals. His two goals and two assists are tied for the series points lead with teammate Tomas Holmstrom and his plus-five rating is the best on both teams.

Not only is Yzerman scoring, but he is also working on the power play and penalty kill and he has been a force on defense against whatever Capitals line has been on the ice.

For the first 13 years of his career, Yzerman had the label of not being able to lead his teams to victory in the big ones. He could always score, posting six 100-point seasons, but his teams never won championships, that is, until the Red Wings ended a 42-year Cup drought last season.

All the perceptions about Yzerman changed after that, from being a loser to one of the great captains.

Before sweeping Philadelphia last year, Yzerman joked that people would not sit down next to him at a craps table. It was that bad. But teammates insist Yzerman has always been a leader.

``He is not a rah-rah type,'' fellow center Kris Draper said. ``He just goes out and leads by example. That's why he is a great guy to have on your dressing room. If he feels something needs to be said, he says it. But most of the time, he just goes out and leads by example and those are the guys that are irreplaceable.''