A Happy Homecoming for Penguins’ Lemieux

Mario Lemieux will always remember his first game at the Molson Centre.

Playing in front of his hometown fans at Montreal, Lemieux tied an NHL record by scoring four goals in the third period, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins past the Canadiens, 5-2, on Sunday.

“It’s always difficult for me here--a lot of pressure,” he said. “I have to take care of so many people. This time, I chose just to stay in my hotel room when I got here and relax.”

The record for most goals in one period is shared by 10 others.

It was also the 10th four-goal game of Lemieux’s career and the 39th game in which he has scored three or more goals, tying another Montreal native, former New York Islander Mike Bossy, for second place.

Wayne Gretzky leads with 49 three-plus performances.

Lemieux, whose previous games in Montreal were at the Forum, missed three good scoring chances before breaking out.

Edmonton 3, Washington 1--Dan McGillis’ second goal of the game broke a third-period tie to lead the Oilers at Landover, Md.

McGillis got a step on Washington defenseman Ken Klee in the left circle and skated toward the crease, where he poked a centering pass from Mariusz Czerkawski past goalie Olie Kolzig 4:53 into the final period.

It was McGillis’ first multiple-goal game and the Oilers’ first victory over Washington since 1992. Washington entered the game with an 11-1-1 record in its last 13 games against Edmonton.

Todd Marchant, who missed a first-period penalty shot, also scored for the Oilers, who were outshot, 41-25.

Curtis Joseph made 40 saves for Edmonton.