NHL Roundup : Lemieux Looks Just Fine in Penguin Win, 5-3

If Mario Lemieux was hurt Sunday, it was not apparent Tuesday night at Pittsburgh when the big Penguin center was again at his best, leading his team to a 5-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

On Sunday, the New York Rangers had contended that Lemieux was faking after being slashed in the chest by David Shaw.

Lemieux lay sprawled on the ice for several minutes while fights broke out all over the Madison Square Garden ice. He did not return to the game.

But Tuesday, Lemieux assisted on a goal in the first period, scored on a breakaway halfway through the third period to give the Penguins a 4-2 lead, then scored into an empty net with 1 second left while his team was short-handed.

Last season’s National Hockey League scoring champion and runaway leader this season has scored in all 12 games. Despite getting only a point in the 9-2 loss to the Rangers Sunday, Lemieux has 41 points, 18 of them goals.

The Rangers’ Tomas Sandstrom, a victim of a vicious attack last season, and defenseman James Patrick, who is likely to draw a suspension after breaking the jaw of Philadelphia’s Ron Sutter with a high stick Saturday, were irate about Lemieux’s behavior Sunday.

“Lemieux should have been able to skate off right away,” Sandstrom told Newsday. “If the score had been 3-2 instead of 8-2, he would have jumped up and played the next shift.”

Patrick said it wasn’t the first time Lemieux has turned actor. “I’ve probably seen him lay down on the ice like that 30 times,” he said. “When you see guys like him and (Wayne) Gretzky diving all the time, it makes it tough on the referees.”

The Penguins have vowed to make Shaw pay for slashing their superstar.

Meanwhile, the Canucks couldn’t handle Lemieux, and a bruised sternum didn’t bother him, either.

Lemieux didn’t really turn it on until the final minutes, although he played every shift.

With the Canucks trailing, 3-2, Lemieux intercepted Larry Melnyk’s pass at the Penguins’ blue line, skated the length of the ice and beat Steve Weeks to assure the Penguins of their eighth win in 12 games.

“It was tough to concentrate out there with the injury I had in the last game,” Lemieux said. “I had to get myself going again. I guess I needed that game to get myself back up, and hopefully I can play a lot better the next game.”

Coach Bob McCammon of the Canucks, who had won 4 of their last 5, thought Lemieux looked good. “I didn’t think his chest was bothering him too much. I’ll bet he’s been hit harder in the bathtub.”

Winnipeg 8, New York Islanders 1--The Jets’ offense had been sputtering until the third period Sunday against the Kings. The Jets, who scored 6 goals in less than 8 minutes against Los Angeles, continued their offensive surge at Uniondale, N.Y.

The Jets scored on their first 2 shots in less than 2 minutes against Billy Smith and never let up.

Dave Ellett scored 52 seconds after the opening faceoff, and Dale Hawerchuk scored on a 55-foot blast at 1:40.

The Jets scored 6 goals in 35 minutes before Smith was replaced by Kelly Hrudey. Before Sunday, they had 23 goals in 8 games.

New Jersey 3, Philadelphia 2--Claude Loiselle scored on a powerful one-man rush with 6:14 remaining at East Rutherford, N.J., to hand the Flyers their fifth loss in their last six games.

The Devils had just failed on a power play with the score tied, 2-2, when Loiselle took a pass at center ice from Craig Wolnin and broke down the right wing.

He skated around defenseman Terry Carkner, who was still hanging on when Loiselle slipped the puck between goaltender Ron Hextall’s legs for his second goal of the season.

Montreal 5, Hartford 3--Shayne Corson, Claude Lemieux and rookie Mike Keane scored goals within 2:45 in the first period at Hartford, Conn., to bring the Canadiens from behind.

The Whalers took a 2-0 lead in the first 5 minutes on a power-play goal by Dave Babych and a short-handed score by Dave Tippett.

But Mike McPhee cut the lead to 2-1 on a power play at 5:36. The spurt that put the game away began with Corson’s goal at 13:32.

Detroit 3, Washington 3--A team trailing in the last 2 minutes of a game on the road seldom gets a power-play opportunity, so when the Red Wings’ Steve Chiasson was sent off at 18:43 of the third period at Detroit on a holding call by referee Paul Stewart, the Capitals made the most of it.

With just 58 seconds left and goaltender Clint Malarchuk on the bench, Mike Gartner, at the side of the net, took a pass from Dave Christian and shot the puck between goalie Glen Hanlon’s legs.