Although he never left hockey, Wayne Gretzky felt as nervous as Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson coming out of retirement.
Gretzky had much to prove in his first game with the St. Louis Blues, and didn't waste any time.He scored on a rare breakaway in the first period to give his new team a 2-0 lead against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. The game ended in a 2-2 tie.
Gretzky pumped his arms and smiled broadly, leaving little doubt about the relief he felt.
"Now I don't have to hear anybody say, `When are you going to score your first goal?' " he said.
Breakaways are the weakest part of Gretzky's offensive game. However, he had a clean trip to the net at 16:24 of the first period, flipping the puck over goalie Kirk McLean. Stephane Matteau and Brett Hull assisted on Gretzky's first Blues goal and 16th of the season.
"Like fine wine, I get better with age on those breakaways," the 35-year-old Great One said.
Gretzky practiced just once with the Blues prior to the game, and admitted nerves played a major part. He dropped his stick after one faceoff.
"I don't care who you are or what you've done, you're always nervous. I'm sure Jordan's first game back last year, he was nervous," he said.
Gretzky ticked off what he'd gone through in the previous 48 hours, as if everyone didn't already know about the Los Angeles Kings trading him.
"Making the decision, getting traded, saying goodbye to some close friends, getting on a plane, saying goodbye to my kids, getting here and seeing all you people, not wanting to let Mike down or the Blues down," he said. "It's been emotional."
Gretzky went to bed at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in anticipation of a nerve-wracking debut, and the long shifts he would skate under coach Mike Keenan.
He played nearly 30 minutes, including 8:54 of the 20-minute first period when he had his only two shots on goal. In Los Angeles, Gretzky rarely played more than 16 minutes a game.
"He probably had more ice time than he's had in quite some time. I was trying to be guarded, but he still ended up playing 27, 28 minutes," Keenan said. "I don't think he was used to it. Quite often we'll come back with a shift after one rest as opposed to two."
Gretzky was the only St. Louis player cheered by the 18,422 fans during introductions.
They applauded, then booed his goal.
"I was happy to see him get it, and I'm sure there will be many more," linemate Shayne Corson said.
Alex Mogilny scored both of Vancouver's goals, including his 50th on a power play at 13:19 of the second period to tie the game 1-1 after Al MacInnis scored for St. Louis. Mogilny joined Pavel Bure as the only Canucks to record 50-goal seasons. Gretzky wasn't on the ice for Vancouver's goals.
Despite Mogilny's milestone performance, the Canucks knew they were mere understudies in their own building on Gretzky's big night.
And to them, he looked as good as ever.
"When he was coming over the boards, it didn't seem like he had any trouble," Vancouver coach Rick Ley said.
Gretzky and Hull stood next to each other on the blue line during the anthems, then skated into place for the start. Gretzky's jersey bore a `C' signifying his status as the Blues' new captain, a role Corson happily yielded.
"That put the pressure on right away," Gretzky said. "I loved it."
Gretzky lost the opening faceoff to Vancouver's Trevor Linden during a quiet first shift. On his second time on the ice, Gretzky hit Murray Baron with a pass from the left wing, and Baron's hard shot had the crowd yelling until McLean made a glove save.
Kids trained cameras on No. 99 skating in a blue-red-and-gold jersey during pregame warmups, and vendors hawked hastily produced gray T-shirts with Gretzky's name and number illustrated in musical notes.
Outside General Motors Place, scalpers hustled tickets, with prices starting at $100.