Red Wings Don’t Mess Around, Rout Blues, 8-3

There were no lingering doubts about the Detroit Red Wings this time.

The Red Wings struck with a swift vengeance in an 8-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday at Detroit and took a 2-0 lead in their second-round series.

Steve Yzerman had two goals and three assists, tying a Detroit record with five points in a playoff game. Yzerman had a goal and two assists in the Red Wings’ five-goal first period.

“We hope it’s a breakthrough,” Yzerman said. “But we don’t play a wide-open game. We go out to play hard defense, not to score a lot of goals. There was no particular reason for the fast start.”

Nicklas Lidstrom had two goals for the Red Wings, seeking their first Stanley Cup title since 1955.

St. Louis Coach Mike Keenan, a master of mind games, had complained about everything from the length of the visitor’s bench at Joe Louis Arena to Sergei Fedorov’s alleged flops. Keenan gave the impression the Blues felt robbed after a 3-2 loss in Game 1.

“We didn’t pay much attention to what he said,” Yzerman said. “It’s irrelevant to us.”

Said Detroit Coach Scotty Bowman: “They had to do what they felt they had to do. Most of our guys play through that stuff.”

Keenan, a Bowman protege, didn’t come out to meet with reporters for almost 35 minutes after the game ended. Then he met with only a Detroit and St. Louis beat writer, keeping the rest of the media in a hallway. When he finally did emerge, Keenan answered only a few questions before leaving.

New York Rangers 6, Pittsburgh 3--The toughened Rangers stopped talking a big game and instead played one, containing the Penguins with forechecking and follow-up goals at Pittsburgh to even their second-round series at 1-1.

Luc Robitaille, labeled as overpaid and unproductive by ex-Ranger Sergei Zubov, scored the first goal and assisted on two others. Mark Messier, who stressed the necessity of playing with a sense of urgency, also had a goal and an assist.