Rob at The Cheap Seats reflects on a “Vintage Stevie” moment.

It was a vintage Steve Yzerman goal, the kind that Wings fans might have taken for granted 10 or 15 years ago. After all, back then these moments were a dime a dozen.

Back then the Captain’s legs were fresher, his ice time was more abundant and the load he carried for the Detroit Red Wings was significantly heavier. And, for just a moment, it felt like old times.

Of course, it’s not old times. It’s 2005, and the post-lockout NHL is built for speedy youngsters, not wily veterans. This is Yzerman’s 22nd NHL season, his 20th as Detroit’s captain. He’s played the game of hockey, and played it hard, for a very long time, and it has taken it’s toll. There have been herniated discs in his neck, a fractured orbital bone and, most troubling, a ravaged knee, first injured in 1988 and nagging ever since. And those are just the marquee injuries–only the trainers know how many other bumps and bruises there have been along the way.