Montreal Shows Love for Lemieux

The NHL’s greatest French-Canadian star of the last decade fought back tears Wednesday night as a sellout crowd that included most of his friends and family stood and applauded him in his hometown of Montreal.

Mario Lemieux, who rivaled Wayne Gretzky as hockey’s best for 13 seasons and who now insists he will retire at season’s end, had left the announced crowd of 21,273 an indelible memory--a five-point game.

However, it wasn’t enough for Lemieux’s Pittsburgh Penguins, who were beaten, 8-5, by the Canadiens. But it was plenty for those who turned out for what should be his final game in Montreal.

“It was probably the first time an ovation got to me,” said Lemieux, who has battled back surgery and a bout with cancer while accumulating three most valuable player awards and five--going on six--scoring titles.

“It was really emotional, especially in front of my family, and I almost cried. It was so loud and went on so long. It’s a good thing they dropped the puck because I was ready to go back to work.”

Lemieux also got a standing ovation when he scored on a classic break from the blueline at 15:59 of the third period and got another after scoring the game’s final goal on a power play.

Detroit 6, Colorado 5--In a fight-filled game in which 39 penalties were called, resulting in 148 penalty minutes, Darren McCarty helped the Red Wings settle an old score with the Avalanche’s Claude Lemieux and also scored 39 seconds into overtime at Detroit.

The biggest brawl of the night started when McCarty decked Lemieux with a straight right hand. Even Detroit goalie Mike Vernon and Colorado’s Patrick Roy got involved, with Vernon getting the best of Roy. The brawl left Roy, Lemieux and the Avalanche’s Peter Forsberg bloodied and resulted in 22 penalty minutes.

By the end of the game, Detroit had 19 penalties totaling 73 minutes and the Avalanche 20 and 75 minutes.

Chicago 5, Washington 3--The Blackhawks, fighting for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference, rallied from a 2-1 deficit by scoring four goals on eight shots in the third period at Chicago.

“We just played with a sense of desperation and a little more desire in the third period,” said right wing Tony Amonte, who scored his team-leading 38th and 39th goals in the period.

New York Islanders 3, Buffalo 2--Defenseman Bryan Berard scored off a rebound one minute into overtime as the Islanders won at Buffalo to stay in contention for the playoffs.

Toronto 2, San Jose 1--Mats Sundin scored his 39th goal of the season at 2:33 of the second period to give the Maple Leafs a 2-0 lead and it held up for a victory at San Jose.