Ailing Yzerman’s Status Is Shrouded in Secrecy

Is it or isn’t it? Will he or won’t he?

Those are two key questions as the first-round playoff series between the Kings and Red Wings returned to Detroit tied at two games apiece. Game 5 is Saturday at Joe Louis Arena, and everyone wants to know the severity of Red Wing captain Steve Yzerman’s injury and whether he will play in this series.

Officially, the team isn’t saying much of anything about Yzerman. Coach Scotty Bowman says only that Yzerman suffered “a low ankle sprain” in Game 1 and has discounted reports attributed to unnamed sources who say Yzerman has a broken left ankle and a broken left index finger.

It’s believed that Yzerman hopes to play if there is a Game 7, but he won’t be fit to play in either Game 5 or Game 6 on Monday at Staples Center.

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The Kings took an enormous gamble by pulling goaltender Felix Potvin in favor of a sixth skater to create a six-on-four situation while on a power play, but trailing, 3-1, late in Game 4 on Wednesday. Detroit could have secured the victory with an empty-net goal, but King Coach Andy Murray decided it was worth the risk.

“We had to do it,” winger Luc Robitaille said after the move produced Jozef Stumpel’s power-play goal with 2:27 remaining in the third period. “It was a great move. I was totally in favor of it.”

The Kings pulled Potvin again with about 1:10 remaining in regulation time and Bryan Smolinski scored the tying goal with 53 seconds remaining in the third period. Eric Belanger scored the deciding goal 2:36 into sudden-death overtime.

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Detroit winger Tomas Holmstrom is one of the league’s best at standing in front of the opposing goaltender, creating a screen that enables teammates to fire shots into the back of the net.

But is it legal?

The league has asked its referees to crack down on interference with the goaltender. Holmstrom is rarely penalized for infringing on the goalie’s space, although if he were a basketball player he might be called for three seconds in the lane quite frequently.

“He’s on the edge,” Murray said of Holmstrom. “Sometimes he’s legal and sometimes he’s not. I think the refs know that. I think the 29 other teams know that. He’s good at what he does.”

Holmstrom had two assists in Game 4 and has a goal and four points in the series.

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A crowd of reporters gathered around defenseman Chris Chelios in the Detroit dressing room the other day.

“How’s the thumb, Chris?” everyone wanted to know.

“No comment,” said Chelios, who suffered a broken left thumb March 17 and was sidelined for the final nine regular-season games and Game 1.

“We’re not supposed to talk about injuries,” Chelios said before finally acknowledging his thumb feels “great. Hopefully, it’ll get better and better as the series goes on.”

Chelios hasn’t looked sharp when handling the puck in this series, however. His passes lack zip and his shots don’t appear to have much pace on them.

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King defenseman Lubomir Vishnovsky played only 3 minutes 51 seconds in Game 4, suffering an arm injury. Murray said X-rays were negative. Vishnovsky, who was sidelined for Game 1 because of temporary nerve damage in his leg, is said to be “day to day.”

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The Kings traveled Thursday and didn’t practice, but will be back on the ice today. “I’ve said it each game, and I still think we’re going to have to be better to win,” Murray said. “We’re going to have to play our best game of the series Saturday. . . . It’s a best-of-three series and I don’t think home-ice advantage in the seventh game means a lot. It’s up for grabs. They will still be the favorites, but we thought coming in we could beat them and I don’t think we’ve played as well yet as we did at the end of the season.”

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Before Wednesday’s third-period collapse, the Red Wings had been an astonishing 32-0-2 during the regular season when holding a lead after two periods.

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Game 6, which will be played Monday at Staples Center, is a sellout. A seventh game, if necessary, will be Wednesday at Detroit.