Wings look to Yzerman

By Mark Barden

Steve Yzerman's return for Detroit has given the Stanley Cup holders a boost as they bid to retain the trophy.

The long-serving Red Wings captain made his comeback from injury in Monday's 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

It was his first game of the season after an osteotomy - a realingnment procedure - on his right knee in August.

Yzerman (left) leads the Wings by example

Yzerman last played in game five of last June's Stanley Cup finals when the Red Wings beat Carolina to win the title.

A truly inspirational figure, he is in his 20th NHL season and has spent his entire career with Detroit.

The 37-year-old centre is already is the longest-serving captain in NHL history.

Yzerman is ninth on the NHL career list with 658 goals and is in seventh place with 1,662 points.

He did not figure in any of the Detroit goals on Monday and totalled 13:17 of ice time, but, he said, just to be playing again felt good.

"I felt better in the game than I expected," Yzerman admitted.

'Greatest leader'

"The knee felt about how I expected - I was more comfortable out there than I thought I would be."

Red Wings goalie Manny Legace said: "It just feels so good to just have him sitting here in the dressing room with his uniform on.

"He's the greatest leader I've ever seen."

Yzerman lifts the Stanley Cup for a third time

Born in Cranbook, British Columbia, Yzerman's was Detroit's first pick - and fourth overall - in the 1983 NHL draft.

Unfortunately for him, and hockey fans in Motor City, the Wings had not won the Stanley Cup since 1955 - their decade of dominance.

Yet in his first season, Yzerman helped Detroit reach the play-offs for the first time in six years, and he also made the All-Star game.

He became captain in 1987 but it was another eight years before the Wings won the Western Conference to reach the Stanley Cup finals.

They were swept 4-0 by the New Jersey Devils but bounced back in 1997 to take the famous trophy for the first time in 42 years.

The Red Wings showed they were no flash in the pan by retaining it the following season.

Yzerman (right) and Canada beat the USA to win Olympic gold

Yzerman then skated to glory with Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

A third Cup triumph came last year, after which legendary coach Scotty Bowman and goalie Dominik Hasek called it quits.

Yzerman's lengthy spell on the sidelines this season may have made him feel his age.

But 37 is not particularly old for a team which includes Igor Larionov (42), Chris Chelios (41) and Brett Hull (39).

Currently topping the Western Conference's central division, Yzerman and his golden oldies could well keep hold of the Cup this year.