Red Wings Retire Steve Yzerman's Number

The Detroit Red Wings capped a memorable night for Steve Yzerman with a gritty win he could surely appreciate. <br/><br/>After ``The Captain'' had his No. 19 jersey retired in a ceremony that lasted

Wednesday, January 3rd 2007, 6:21 am

By: News On 6

The Detroit Red Wings capped a memorable night for Steve Yzerman with a gritty win he could surely appreciate.

After ``The Captain'' had his No. 19 jersey retired in a ceremony that lasted nearly 90 minutes, Henrik Zetterberg scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period Tuesday night and Detroit held on for a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.

``We started off sluggish because we were sitting around for more than an hour, but then we played well,'' Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said. ``I'm sure Steve was proud.''

Tomas Holmstrom also scored and Dominik Hasek made 21 saves for the Red Wings, who won their fourth in a row and improved to 14-3-3 at home. They also pulled into a first-place tie with Nashville in the Central Division.

During a pregame ceremony, the usually stoic Yzerman deflected credit for his achievements and got emotional when he addressed his adoring fans.

A captain for an NHL-record 20 seasons, Yzerman is regarded as one of the best leaders in league history. However, he attempted to downplay that reputation.

``I feel like my image as a great leader is greatly overblown because I played with some of the greatest hockey players,'' Yzerman said with a comment that was met by groans in the sold-out crowd. ``I stand here humbly saying 'Thank you.' Any personal success I had was because of the great players I played with.''

In other NHL games, it was: Montreal 5, Tampa Bay 2; Pittsburgh 3, Carolina 0; Philadelphia 3, the New York Islanders 2; the New York Rangers 3, New Jersey 2 in a shootout; Chicago 4, St. Louis 1; Minnesota 5, Atlanta 1; Edmonton 4, Florida 1; and Vancouver 3, Calgary 2.

Yzerman retired last summer at age 41 after 22 seasons _ all in Detroit _ and stayed with the organization as a vice president.

After leading the Red Wings to Stanley Cup championships in 1997, 1998 and 2002, he finished with 1,755 regular-season points _ a total that led all active players last season and trails just five in NHL history.

His jersey became the sixth retired by the storied franchise and was hoisted to the rafters alongside Gordie Howe's No. 9, Ted Lindsay's No. 7, Terry Sawchuck's No. 1, Alex Delvecchio's No. 10 and Sid Abel's No. 12.

Anaheim star Teemu Selanne couldn't resist watching some of the ceremony.

``You're not supposed to, but I did, especially when he came out with his family,'' Selanne said. ``I kind of timed it that way.

``It was always great to play against him and watch him because he was a special player and a classy guy. One of my heroes and a great story. Hockey needs more guys like him.''

The Red Wings wore a patch on their shoulders to commemorate the ceremony, then played just well enough to win.

``I don't think it was a highlight game, but we were able to find a way,'' coach Mike Babcock said.

Anaheim's Ilya Bryzgalov made 28 saves while filling in for Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who has not played since injuring his groin last week. The Ducks have lost three straight.

Penguins 3, Hurricanes 0

At Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby scored twice and set up another goal to become the first NHL player with 60 points this season. Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves in his second shutout and the fourth of his career.

Flyers 3, Islanders 2

Mike Knuble had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia, which has won a season-high three straight _ all on the road _ right after a franchise-worst 10-game losing streak. Even with this spurt, the Flyers still own an NHL-low 11 wins.

Robert Esche stopped 40 shots, but nearly lost a 3-0 lead when Jason Blake and Mike Sillinger scored 33 seconds apart in the final three minutes. The Islanders have lost four straight for the first time this season.

Rangers 3, Devils 2, SO

Marcel Hossa scored in the eighth round of a shootout and Henrik Lundqvist stopped Travis Zajac to win it. The visiting Rangers have won two straight following a seven-game skid.

Michael Nylander and Petr Prucha scored in regulation for the Rangers. John Madden and Jamie Langenbrunner scored for the Devils, who had won three in a row.

Canadiens 5, Lightning 2

Tomas Plekanec scored twice and host Montreal also got goals from Alex Kovalev, Michael Ryder and Christopher Higgins. Cristobal Huet made 21 saves in his fifth straight start.

Blackhawks 4, Blues 1

Nikolai Khabibulin made 38 saves and visiting Chicago erased a third-period deficit with a three-goal flurry that ended the Blues' eight-game point streak.

Wild 5, Thrashers 1

Pierre-Marc Bouchard had two goals and two assists, Mark Parrish also scored twice and Minnesota extend its dominance at home.

Minnesota tied a season high with its eighth straight home win. The Wild are an NHL-best 17-3-1 at home and haven't lost at the Xcel Energy Center since Dec. 1.

Oilers 4, Panthers 1

Ryan Smyth scored his 20th goal of the season, Dwayne Roloson made 25 saves and host Edmonton snapped a four-game skid with the 1,000th victory in franchise history.

Fernando Pisani, Raffi Torres and Ales Hemsky also scored for the Oilers, who were the third-fastest team to reach the milestone win. Edmonton did it in its 2,114th game, behind only Philadelphia (2,018) and Montreal (2,064).

Canucks 3, Flames 2

Alex Burrows scored his first goal in 48 games and visiting Vancouver held on for its season-best fourth consecutive victory.

Trevor Linden and Brendan Morrison also scored for the Canucks, and Roberto Luongo made 27 saves.

Matthew Lombardi scored twice for the Flames, who lost for only the second time in their past 14 home games _ both to Vancouver. The teams played for the fifth time in 25 days.