Saturday, April 24, 2004
He scored twice, two minutes apart, in the 5-2 victory that tied the series 1-1.
DETROIT (AP) -- Steve Yzerman needed very little help to get the Detroit Red Wings even with the Calgary Flames in the Western Conference semifinals.
Yzerman scored twice 2:13 apart in the second period to give Detroit a three-goal lead, and the Red Wings defeated Calgary 5-2 Saturday in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series.
Detroit's captain had two goals in a playoff game for the first time since 1999. Yzerman has a franchise-record 70 goals and 181 points in his 20 seasons with the Red Wings.
Joseph tough in goal
Curtis Joseph made 14 saves in the victory, and Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 27 shots.
Game 3 is Tuesday night in Calgary.
Tomas Holmstrom gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead early in the second period, and after Yzerman's goals, Shean Donovan made it 3-1 at 13:05 of the second.
Detroit had a two-man advantage late in the third period and scored both times, the first on Brett Hull's one-timer and the second on Nicklas Lidstrom's slap shot. Calgary's Martin Gelinas scored with 1:10 left.
The Flames managed to win the series opener without any points from NHL MVP contender Jarome Iginla, but couldn't do it for a second straight game. Iginla had eight points in the first-round victory over Vancouver after scoring a league-high 41 goals in the regular season.
Flames not disappointed
But the sixth-seeded Flames can't be disappointed going home with the series tied against the Red Wings, who had an NHL-high 109 points this season. Calgary is in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 1989.
With 23.5 seconds left, Iginla and Derian Hatcher squared off in one of many fights, which left sticks and gloves scattered on the ice.
Holmstrom started Detroit's flurry of goals.
At 3:02 of the second, Holmstrom redirected Lidstrom's shot. Yzerman's scored two even-strength goals midway through the period.
Mathieu Dandenault's end-to-end rush set up Yzerman's one-timer from inside the right circle. From almost the same spot, Yzerman lifted a shot over Kiprusoff off of a centering pass from Kirk Maltby.
The Flames pulled within two goals when Marcus Nilson flipped a shot toward the net and Donovan's stick lifted the puck over Joseph.
In the first period, Calgary defenseman Rhett Warrener left the ice with blurry vision after being struck in the right eye. He was taken to a hospital for further evaluation. The defenseman was engaged with Hatcher along the boards near Calgary's net when Yzerman appeared to unintentionally hit Warrener in the right eye with his stick while Stephane Yelle checked Yzerman.
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