DETROIT - Steve Yzerman pumped his fist and screamed with joy as his adoring fans went wild.
All was well in Hockeytown thanks to "The Captain."
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 to tie the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal.
"It's amazing how much energy you have after scoring goals," Yzerman said.
He would know.
Yzerman has a franchise-record 70 playoff goals and 181 points in his 20 seasons with the Red Wings. In regular-season games, he's the sixth-leading scorer in league history.
One of the game's greatest centers was moved to right wing Saturday and put on the "Grind Line" with center Kris Draper and left wing Kirk Maltby.
"They played together at some point in the season," Detroit coach Dave Lewis said. "Draper and Maltby, with their speed, and Stevie, with his smarts and hands, they find a way to generate offense."
Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 27 shots in the loss, and Detroit's Curtis Joseph had to make just 14 saves.
In the first period, Calgary defenseman Rhett Warrener had blurry vision after being struck in the right eye and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.
When his vision improved, doctors cleared him to play. He was on Calgary's bench in the third period, but didn't return to the ice.
Tomas Holmstrom gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead early in the second and after Yzerman's goals, Calgary's Shean Donovan made it 3-1 at 13:50 of the second.
SHARKS 4, AVALANCHE 1: Now that Jonathan Cheechoo has everyone's attention, the world finally might notice San Jose.
Patrick Marleau scored his league-leading seventh goal of the postseason, and Cheechoo had a between-the-legs goal for host San Jose, which took a 2-0 series lead.
Marleau, Cheechoo and Vincent Damphousse each had a goal and an assist for the Sharks. Evgeni Nabokov had 20 saves.
Except for Cheechoo's highlight-reel goal, not much was flashy about the speedy, workmanlike Sharks.
"I think most hockey people know about us," Marleau said. "Maybe we don't get all the attention that some teams do, but we're just focused on our goals."
The Sharks recovered from an early deficit and led 2-1 entering the third, but it was a tense game until Cheechoo, a 28-goal scorer in the regular season, surprised even himself. During a power play, Brad Stuart took the puck low and passed to Cheechoo, who put his stick backward between his legs and flipped a shot past David Aebischer's glove in one fluid motion.
"I don't think I've ever even practiced that," Cheechoo said. "I was just running out of options."
Colorado right wing Teemu Selanne was a healthy scratch.
MAPLE LEAFS: Forward Joe Nieuwendyk likely will miss tonight's Game 2 of a second-round series against the Flyers because of an undisclosed injury. Coach Pat Quinn said he played hurt in a 3-1 loss in Game 1 on Thursday night. "He shouldn't have been playing," Quinn said. "We could see that his play wasn't where it needed to be and where it has been."
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Lasse Pirjeta scored twice and Finland rallied to beat the United States 4-2 on the tournament's opening day in Prague, Czech Republic.
The Americans took a 2-0 lead on goals by Jeff Halpern and Chris Drury, but Finland tied it in the second. Pirjeta, a Penguins forward, gave Finland a 3-2 lead 12:55 into the third with a slap shot past Rangers goaltender Mike Dunham. In other games, Czech Republic defeated Latvia 3-1, Sweden beat Denmark 5-1, Austria defeated France 6-0 and 2002 champion Slovakia shut out Ukraine 2-0.
Also, Anaheim's Mike Babcock replaced Joel Quenneville as Canada's coach after Quenneville was hospitalized for exhaustion. Babcock was slated to be Quenneville's assistant. Tom Renney of the Rangers, the other assistant, became associate coach.
