DENVER -- During Game 3 of the Western Conference finals against the Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings center Jason Williams found himself in a nice spot for a 21-year-old -- between Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman.

Wings coach Scotty Bowman has been juggling his lines throughout the playoffs, even more so without injured center Igor Larionov. Before moving Williams into Sergei Fedorov's usual spot, Bowman consulted Yzerman, who Bowman said liked the idea.

"It gave us a chance to use Sergei in a different role with Tomas Holmstrom and Luc Robitaille," said Bowman. "Williams is a good faceoff player for us, and he's got a good shot."

Before Wednesday's game -- a 2-1 overtime win for the Wings -- Williams was a bit nervous.

"I spoke with Steve and Shanny before the game, and they really calmed my nerves," Williams said. "Steve said if I had trouble on the draws, he could take them, and just to concentrate on playing my game and not to worry about who we were out against."

Williams and Co. usually played against one of Colorado's top two lines -- Peter Forsberg-Chris Drury-Steve Reinprecht or Alex Tanguay-Joe Sakic-Milan Hejduk - which left Williams with the difficult duty of facing off against Sakic and Drury, two of the Avs' top four players on the draw. While Williams won only four of his 11 faceoffs against the duo, Yzerman didn't fare much better at 6-for-12. Both Wings finished the game at 6-for-13 (46 percent).

Offensively, Williams had a quality scoring chance during the third period, but Patrick Roy stopped his bid at the last moment with a leg pad.

"He hasn't shown it yet, but he's got a good shot," Bowman said. "He would be able to score on a lot of goalies if he gets a shot." For Bowman, the change worked well. Williams didn't look out of place between the two future Hall of Famers, and his line combined for 11 shots on goal. While Fedorov and his new linemates also combined for 11 shots, they tied the game at 5:20 of the third on Robitialle's first goal since May 4 when Larionov was his center.

Now, Bowman has a decision to make for Game 4 on Saturday. Does he insert Larionov back into the lineup and run the risk of disrupting the newly found chemistry? If so, who will come out?

If Larionov returns, Williams likely will be relegated to the press box. Rookie center Pavel Datsyuk is also a possibility, but his line, with Brett Hull and Boyd Devereaux, has been Detroit's best puck-control line.

Though Larionov skated before Game 3, and didn't show signs of favoring his injured left knee, he was left out of the lineup. He skated again Thursday morning, and said he felt he about 95 percent. Larionov seldom -- if ever -- returns to the lineup from an injury if he's not feeling 100 percent.

"These games are all about skill and stamina," the 41-year-old center said. "To play at the level that these two teams are playing at right now, you have to be in perfect shape."