Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman, one of two injured star Detroit centers, was back in the starting lineup Thursday night as the Wings went for a four-game sweep of their Western Conference finals playoff series against the Blackhawks.
Yzerman had been sidelined 10 days by a knee injury sustained against the San Jose Sharks in the previous round. He tested the knee in a midday skate-around at the United Center on Thursday.
Center Sergei Fedorov, knocked out of Game 3 by an overtime check by Hawks defenseman Gerald Diduck, was scratched from the eligible-to-play list for Thursday’s game.
Familiar song: Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman remained steadfast to the ancient play-them-one-game-at-a-time theme before the game.
Bowman was asked if he was eager to sweep the Hawks so Yzerman, Fedorov and other bumped-and-bruised Wings might get extra healing time before the finals against New Jersey or Philadelphia.
“No, I never even thought about that,” said Bowman. “We’re thinking of this game. We try to win every game.”
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Different perspectives: To many observers, the Wings scored three one-goal victories over the Hawks on game-winning goals scored by relatively obscure offensive threats. To Bowman, scoring from his “depth players” came as no surprise.
Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom scored the winner in overtime in Game 1. Kris Draper, a checking center, hit the winner in Game 2. In Game 3, former Blackhawks player Stu Grimson and defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov each scored his first playoff goal, Konstaninov’s ending the game in its second overtime.
“Lidstrom’s goal was not ususual,” said Bowman. “He’s one of the better offensive defensemen. Kris Draper took over responsibility after injuries to Yzerman and Fedorov. If you look at our scoring, you’ll see we score quite a few goals from our depth players.”