Lemieux a Winner in Loss : Penguin Star, Out Almost 2 Months Because of Hodgkin’s Disease, Gets a Goal and Assist After Standing Ovation From Flyer Fans

The score was secondary to the emotion of the moment when the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Mario Lemieux returned Tuesday night after sitting out for almost two months while undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s disease.

Lemieux looked as if he never had been away. He had a goal and an assist and was on the ice for the Penguins’ other two goals during a 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at the sold-out Spectrum.

“It’s crazy,” said Penguin left wing Kevin Stevens, who scored twice, once assisted by Lemieux. “Can you ever imagine what he did tonight? There’s only one person in the world who could do it, and that’s him.”

Lemieux was red-faced from fatigue after playing more than 21 minutes in his first game since Jan. 5.

“I feel all right,” he said, “just a little tired at the end of the game. I haven’t done much the last 10 days, and I’ve felt tired from the radiation.”

He underwent the last of 22 treatments Tuesday morning in Pittsburgh, then arrived on a charter jet at about 1 p.m. After completing his treatment, Lemieux waited unsuccessfully for 90 minutes at Pittsburgh International airport for a flight to Philadelphia. When Lemieux and team publicist Cindy Himes learned their flight was fogged in at Chicago’s Midway Airport, they arranged for the charter to Philadelphia.

Lemieux received a standing ovation when his name was announced as a starter.

“That was a great feeling,” he said, “especially on the road.”

Lemieux’s goal came 1:54 into the second period on a left-circle wrist shot past goalie Dominic Roussel. Then, at 3:29, he assisted on Stevens’ power-play goal to make the score 3-3. At that point, Roussel was replaced by Tommy Soderstrom.

“For a guy that’s been out that long to play the way he did, it looked like he hadn’t even broken stride,” Flyer Coach Bill Dineen said. “ Obviously, that’s where his heart is--in the game of hockey. You can’t give him enough credit.”

Lemieux played 40 of the first 41 games this season, getting 39 goals and 65 assists for an NHL-high 104 points at that point. He suffered a back injury during a Jan. 5 game against the Boston Bruins and later complained of a lump on his neck.

A cancerous tumor was removed Jan. 8 from one of his lymph nodes. He was told Jan. 11 he had Hodgkin’s disease. Four days later, at a news conference, he vowed to beat it. The success rate for treating Lemieux’s form of the illness is 95%.

Lemieux’s radiation treatment was delayed until Feb. 1 while he received antibiotics to combat a respiratory infection. Since Feb. 12, he has practiced on and off with the team, which is 11-11-2 in games he has sat out. Asked if the disease is in remission, he said: “I think so. That’s the term they use.”

“Overall,” Lemieux said of his comeback, “it was a good start. I wanted to get back as soon as possible. If it was up to me, I would have come back last week, but the doctors wanted to play it safe. . . . It’s been a long two months, so hopefully I’ll get back on my game. It’s just a matter of getting back in shape, feeling my way in. . . . I’ll be in New YorkFriday (to play against the Rangers).”

Lemieux said Coach Scotty Bowman originally planned to use him only on power plays, but when Lemieux felt all right during the first period, he asked to play more.

“It was certainly a relief to score a goal in my first game back,” he said. “That gave me a little confidence.”

Asked if he needed courage to get through the past two months, he said: “Anytime you have an injury like this, you have to have courage. But I didn’t have any choice. It’s in my nature to fight back.”