Yzerman Steals Series For Detroit Picks Puck From Great One, Then Scores In Second Ot As Red Wings Win Game 7 After Trailing In Series

For years, Steve Yzerman carried the Detroit Red Wings when they had little talent. Thursday night, surrounded by great players, he was still at it.

Yzerman scored at 1:15 of the second overtime, giving the Red Wings a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues in a breathtaking seventh game of their second-round series.

“It was a tremendous thrill,” said Yzerman, the team’s captain. “It’s what all players dream about.”

The Red Wings, who won an NHL-record 62 games this season, advanced to the Western Conference finals Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche.

“That’s an emotional lift, if anything,” Yzerman said. “We’re on a real high now. We’ve responded to a real challenge and responded well.”

Yzerman stole the puck from Wayne Gretzky near center ice and beat goalie Jon Casey with a slap shot from just inside the blue line as the championship-hungry crowd erupted.

“I didn’t really have a lot of room through the neutral zone,” Yzerman said. “I saw the defenseman coming up. All I was thinking about was, ‘Let’s shoot it.’ I was just hoping it might go through the defenseman’s legs. Then, I saw it go in.

“Just as I looked up, it went by his blocker. It was just under the bar. I was just stunned that it went in, to tell you the truth. You don’t see many go in from back there.”

It was a bitter disappointment for Gretzky, obtained in a trade late in the season in the hope he would make the Blues a contender. The Great One was gracious in defeat.

“It just came off the boards,” Gretzky said. “Steve got to it and made a nice play.

“We’re disappointed, but I hope guys like Steve Yzerman and Paul Coffey go and win the Cup.”

The Red Wings haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1955. That 41-year drought is the longest in the NHL. But the gritty comeback from a 3-2 deficit in this series had coach Scotty Bowman thinking this might be the year.

Especially with Yzerman’s leadership.

“That’s what it’s all about,” said Bowman, trying to become the first coach in NHL history to win a Cup with three different teams. “The guys feel strongly about Steve. He kept saying all week that he didn’t care who scored. Then he scores the winner.”

It was just the second time in NHL history a Game 7 was scoreless heading into overtime. The first was in 1950, when the Red Wings defeated Toronto 1-0 in the semifinals.

Goalie Chris Osgood kept Detroit’s hopes alive with a crucial save on Shayne Corson at 13:00 of the first overtime. Corson stole the puck from Vladimir Konstantinov and fired it at Osgood from the right circle.

“Ozzie really played well,” Detroit forward Dino Ciccarelli said. “We didn’t give them many opportunities. But when we did, Ozzie kept them out.”

This game resembled a suddendeath situation almost from the opening faceoff.

Both teams were tentative, almost sluggish, through the first two periods. Checking was fierce between the blue lines and in the corners. By the third period, players on both sides were skating on tired legs. The overtime was even slower.

“We weren’t laying back,” Yzerman said. “But we didn’t want to force the issue, either. We didn’t want to make any mistakes that would cost us the game.”

The speed and crisp passing that marked Detroit’s play during the season was seldom seen. Instead, the Wings spent a lot of time playing dump-and-chase hockey in this make-or-break game.

Much of that, however, was because the Blues, a team that staggered into the playoffs, winning one of their final 12 games, came together under the leadership of Gretzky and became a formidable opponent in this series.

St. Louis also benefited from the solid goaltending of the veteran Casey, called on after Grant Fuhr was injured in the opening series with Toronto.

Casey, who spent most of the season with Peoria of the International Hockey League, played for the Minnesota North Stars when they made the Stanley Cup finals in 1991.

“Jon was our backbone,” Gretzky said. “After Fuhr went down, everybody could have gotten real down. But Jon came through for us. We’re disappointed, but we surprised a lot of people.”

The last time Detroit won a Game 7 was 1992 against the then-Minnesota North Stars. The Red Wings are 10-7 in such games.

Detroit outshot the Blues 40-29. It was 32-21 after three periods, 38-29 after the first extra period.

“Casey really came in and did a tremendous job for us,” Blues coach Mike Keenan said. “He has to feel proud of himself. He’s the primary reason this series went seven games.

“It was a great defensive battle. Nobody gave an inch, either way.” But it was the Red Wings who inched into the conference finals.

Red Wings 1, Blues 0 (2OT)

St. Louis 0 0 0 0 0 - 0

Detroit 0 0 0 0 1 - 1

First Period-None.

Second Period-None.

Third Period-None.

Overtime-None.

Second Overtime-1, Detroit, Yzerman 8 (Konstantinov), 1:15.

Shots on goal-St. Louis 4-11-6-8-0-29. Detroit 14-6-12-6-2-40.Power-play opp.-St. Louis 0 of 2; Detroit 0 of 3.Goalies-St. Louis, Casey 6-6 (40 shots-39 saves). Detroit, Osgood 6-3 (29-29).A-19,983 (19,875).