DETROIT, Michigan, 3 May 2004 — Detroit captain Steve Yzerman was struck in the face by a puck off a redirected slap shot here Saturday in a National Hockey League playoff game, a serious injury that could be the final blow for a club on the brink of elimination.
The Red Wings and fans in “Hockeytown USA” held their breath to learn the 38-year-old star’s fate following Calgary’s 1-0 second-round triumph over Detroit, which trails the best-of-seven series 3-2 entering Game Six today in Canada.
Yzerman was forced to the locker room in the second period when a slap shot from teammate Mathieu Schneider struck the stick of Flames defenseman Rhett Warrener and hit Yzerman’s face. He fell to the ice instantly, writhing in pain.
Trainers attended to Yzerman on the ice, holding a towel over his left eye as he skated off 11:57 into the second period. Calgary’s Craig Conroy scored the game’s only goal just 4:10 later to put the Western Conference top seed Red Wings on the brink of being ousted.
Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff made 31 saves for the Flames. Kiprusoff stopped 15 shots in the third period and earned his second postseason shutout, lowering his goals-against average to 1.17.
This is Calgary’s first trip to the playoffs since 1996. The Red Wings have won three Stanley Cups since then.
In New York, Joe Sakic scored 1:54 into overtime, his second successive game-winning overtime goal, as the Colorado Avalanche avoided playoff elimination by beating the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Saturday.
Sakic took a behind-the-net pass from Peter Forsberg and beat Evgeni Nabokov cleanly from the slot to help the Avalanche stave off elimination for the second straight game in overtime.
San Jose still leads the best-of-seven Western Conference second round series 3-2. Game Six is tomorrow in Denver.
The Avalanche are hoping to become just the third team in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit.
