clarinews@clarinet.com (02/01/90)
DETROIT (UPI) -- Steve Yzerman's third and fourth goals of the game capped a four-goal outburst in the third period Wednesday night that rallied the Detroit Red Wings to a 7-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Craig Simpson scored twice for the Oilers, who entered the game with a 22-0-1 record, when Edmonton was leading after two periods. The victory was the second straight for Detroit, while Edmonton lost for the first time in four games. Joe Kocur triggered Detroit's comeback when he deflected Lee Norwood's shot from the point during a power play at 6:05 of the third period to tie the score at 4-4. The Red Wings took the lead 45 seconds later on Bernie Federko's deflection of John Chabot's shot from the top of the faceoff circle. Yzerman gave the Red Wings a 6-4 lead at 10:29 when he beat goalie Bill Ranford on the short side with a shot from the bottom of the faceoff circle while Detroit had a two-man advantage. Edmonton had a two-man advantage when Yzerman and Rick Zombo drew penalties with 6:30 left in the game, but the Red Wings killed off the penalties, allowing only two shots on goal. Edmonton cut Detroit's lead back to one goal at 16:18 on defenseman Steve Smith's shot from just inside the blue line after a faceoff in the Detroit end, but Yzerman sealed the victory with his 39th goal of the season into an empty net with 50 seconds remaining. It was the first time in his career he has scored four goals in a game. Yzerman's second goal of the game, a wrist shot from between the faceoff circles with 1:10 left in the second period, cut Edmonton's lead to 4-3. Simpson tied the score at 2-2 at 1:41 of the second period when he took a centering pass from Randy Gregg and beat goalie Glen Hanlon. Craig MacTavish scored on a rebound at 6:02 after linemates Adam Graves and Joe Murphy had applied pressure on the Detroit net. The Oilers took a 4-2 lead at 14:47 on Vladimir Ruzicka's fourth goal in six games. Ruzicka broke in alone on Hanlon, pulled the goalie and lifted a backhand shot into the far corner. Yzerman gave Detroit a 1-0 lead at 2:31 of the first period by knocking his own rebound out of the air and into the net. Simpson converted a pass from Petr Klima on a 3-on-2 break at 4:48 to tie the score at 1-1, but Gerard Gallant put the Red Wings back in front at 5:28. Yzerman maintained control of the puck in the slot area, then threaded a pass to Gallant at the edge of the crease.