Red Wings raise the banner

Red Wings roster

The loudest cheers as the players were introduced at the pregame show were received by paralyzed defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and coach Scotty Bowman, who is recovering from from heart and knee surgery and has not decided whether to return to coaching.

Bowman had spent the day at Beaumont Hospital undergoing a stress checkup. The results of those tests will determine whether he returns to coach again. Bowman watched the game from the private box of team owner Mike Ilitch.

After watching the banner go up on the rafters, Brendan Shanahan scored a hat trick to lead the Wings over the Blues. Sergei Fedorov also scored and Steve Yzerman had three assists for Detroit. St. Louis' only goal was scored by rookie Marty Reasoner. Shots were 25 each.

"It was really good to see Scotty," Shanahan said. "It got the guys in the dressing room pumped up. He just walked in and said, 'Hey, guys!' He looked happy. He seemed excited to see us, and we were happy to see him."

The Blues never really got running on all cylinders and the 45 minute wait during the pregame show might have cooled their jets.

"It's tough to wait 45 minutes after warmups, but they had to wait, too," Blues defenseman Chris Pronger said.

"We'd better get this out of the way, because we can't play too many like we did tonight." Added Pronger.