Great Disappointment Gretzky May Be Injured, But His Play Has Been Hurting St. Louis In Playoffs

Injured or not, Wayne Gretzky is hurting the St. Louis Blues in the playoffs.

Gretzky was on the ice for four of the Detroit Red Wings’ five first-period goals in Sunday’s 8-3 Game 2 blowout loss. Hockey’s career leading scorer, who’s negotiating a three-year, $21 million contract, has become a puzzling liability as the Blues have fallen behind two games to none.

“I stink,” Gretzky said after Game 2. “It’s my responsibility to lead this team, and I consider myself responsible for both these losses.”

Gretzky leads the NHL with 11 assists in these playoffs. But in eight postseason games, he has yet to add to his career record of 110 playoff goals.

After the first-period debacle Sunday, he mostly sat alongside the Blues’ other big star, Brett Hull, in a game that general manager-coach Mike Keenan had written off as a lost cause.

Hull, who’s been held to four goals in the playoffs, has an excuse for being off his game. He’s had a hamstring injury for a month and often leaves practice early, grimacing.

As for Gretzky, there are a number of possible reasons for his tailspin. On March 3, his second game after joining the Blues, he sustained a concussion in a hit by Edmonton’s Kelly Buchberger, although he didn’t miss any games. On April 4, Toronto’s Doug Gilmour dumped him in open ice and Gretzky missed three games with a lower back contusion.

And in the first round, he got knocked around as never before. By Game 6, the finale, he had slowed noticeably and at times skated bent over. Keenan sat him out much of that game, too.

After Game 2 of the Detroit series, Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman said Gretzky winced every time he skated by the Detroit bench.

“He’s in real pain,” Bowman said. “He’s really hurt. He played only 19 minutes and that’s unusual for him.”

But Keenan said there’s nothing physically wrong with the Blues’ meal ticket, at least that he knows of.

“I know Scotty thinks he’s hurt,” Keenan said. “If he is hurt, he’s not telling me and he’s not telling the trainers.”

So what is wrong?

Gretzky, along with Hull, skipped Monday’s optional practice and was unavailable for comment. Keenan offered several possible explanations: 1. Gretzky is getting abused like never before in the playoffs. 2. Gretzky is in the playoffs after a two-year absence and has perhaps forgotten how tough it can be. 3. He’s getting older.

As for Keenan’s points:

Toronto attacked Gretzky liberally in the first round and Gretzky isn’t getting the favored hands-off star treatment from Detroit, either.

“They certainly are doing what Toronto did and that’s being very physical with him every opportunity they get,” Keenan said, noting Bob Rouse and others went after him.

After making a run to the Stanley Cup finals in 1993, Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings didn’t qualify for the playoffs in 1994 or 1995.

“Maybe he’s forgotten how much abuse he’s taken in the past,” Keenan said.

He’s 35 and in his 17th season, and it’s not as easy to dodge the hits as it used to be. How much can one man, even a hockey god, take?

“Maybe the game plan is now that he’s getting a little older to physically abuse him,” Keenan said.

There’s a fourth possible explanation. Gretzky is hurt but afraid to say so, worried it might jeopardize contract talks. Keenan doubts that.

Gretzky, the playoff MVP in 1985 and ‘88, is coming off a so-so regular season, at least for him. He had 102 points, 12th overall. Since coming to St. Louis on Feb. 27, he had eight goals and 13 assists in 18 games. Although his passing skills appear to be as sharp as ever, he’s not much on defense, resulting in a minus-6 rating.

Game 2 was his low point. Keenan said Gretzky lost track of defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov on Detroit’s second goal, then was out of position on the third goal, by Niklas Lidstrom.

“Wayne let his man go twice, and that’s pretty much the end of the hockey game,” Keenan said.

The day after, his teammates were rallying around him. Shayne Corson, who leads the Blues with seven goals, said criticisms are unfair.

“I don’t know why everybody is getting on Wayne,” Corson said. “He’s a great player, and I’m sure he’ll be great on Wednesday.”