Yzerman Feels Ready to Play

Red Wing center Steve Yzerman is so revered in Detroit, reporters compete for the most trivial bit of information on him--even pressing him Friday for details of flu symptoms that kept him out of Detroit’s playoff-opening win over the Kings Thursday.

Nobly resisting the temptation to give a graphic description, Yzerman said Friday he felt better and intends to play today.

“I just felt awful. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t do anything,” said Yzerman, who pulled himself out of the lineup after the warmups. “It’s flu. It’s not that big a deal. I certainly wouldn’t have said I’d miss a game with the flu, but if you’re going out there just to not miss a game or to just get through it, that’s not the right thing to do.”

The Red Wings’ power play, which was the NHL’s best this season at 20.4%, was 0 for 6 without Yzerman.

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King Coach Andy Murray repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with his team’s performance Thursday, especially in not testing Detroit goalie Chris Osgood enough and in not wearing down Detroit’s largely veteran defense.

“We had Kelly Buchberger talk to the team today,” he said of the gritty forward who won two Stanley Cup rings with the Edmonton Oilers. “We’re pulling out all the stops to get this done.”