Penguins Lose, but Lemieux Is a Hit at Boston

The Boston Bruins didn’t get the loudest cheers at home even when they ended their horrible regular season with an impressive victory. The fans saved those for Mario Lemieux.

At Boston, where he began his NHL career with a goal on the first shot of his first shift, Lemieux played his last regular-season game in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 7-3 loss to the Bruins on Sunday.

Lemieux, who is retiring after the playoffs, received standing ovations lasting nearly two minutes before the game and five minutes during a timeout with 3:07 to play as the overhead scoreboard showed a video of his career highlights.

“It’s been happening the last few games where fans don’t stop,” Lemieux said. “I waved a couple of times and then, at the end, I just went to the faceoff circle and called the guys over to get going.”

Lemieux had two assists and won his sixth NHL scoring title.

Despite Lemieux’s offensive production, the Penguins missed an opportunity to play an easier playoff opponent by losing their third consecutive game.

The Penguins, 0-12-1 in their last 13 road games, open the playoffs at Philadelphia, which finished third in the Eastern Conference, instead of at fourth-place Florida.

Philadelphia 5, New Jersey 4--John LeClair’s 50th goal of the season highlighted a four-goal rally in the third period at Philadelphia, but the Devils lost something more important than the game.

Left wing Dave Andreychuk will miss at least the first two weeks of the playoffs after fracturing his left ankle. Andreychuk, the Devils’ third-leading scorer with 27 goals and 34 assists, was injured in the second period when he was hooked behind the Philadelphia net by defenseman Janne Niinimaa.

Devils Coach Jacques Lemaire had benched defenseman Scott Stevens and forward Steve Thomas as a precaution heading into the playoffs.

Washington 8, Buffalo 3--Rookie Jaroslav Svejkovsky recorded his first career four-goal game, leading the Capitals at Buffalo over the playoff-bound Sabres, who are more concerned about the future of center Pat LaFontaine.

Svejkovsky, the second of Washington’s first-round picks in the 1996 draft, scored twice in the first period and added two more in the third.

LaFontaine will miss the playoffs and decide during the offseason whether to retire because of complications from a concussion. LaFontaine visited the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., last week, where doctors saw improvement but not enough for him to resume playing.

Hartford 2, Tampa Bay 1--The Whalers won their last game in a city that has lost its NHL franchise.

The Whalers, who lost their grip on the eighth and final playoff spot down the stretch of a tight Eastern Conference race, skated for the last time at the Hartford Civic Center.

Glen Wesley and Kevin Dineen scored to give Whaler fans something positive to remember.

Both teams failed to make the playoffs.

The lack of intensity didn’t bother the sellout crowd of 14,660 that turned out to bid farewell to the Whalers, whose owner, Peter Karmanos, insists he is not bringing his team back to Hartford even though he has yet to find a new home.

Chicago 5, Dallas 2--Right wing Eric Daze scored his first career hat trick and added an assist at Dallas, giving the Blackhawks hope that his offensive production will aid them in the first round of the playoffs.

The Blackhawks open first round action against defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.

Jeff Shantz--the center on Daze’s line--had a goal and two assists. But for Schantz, the best news was the breakout game for Daze.

Todd Harvey and Pat Verbeek scored for the Stars, who completed their most successful regular season in team history with 104 points.

St. Louis 3, Detroit 1--Joe Murphy had a goal and an assist at Detroit to lead the Blues to victory and a first-round playoff meeting against the Red Wings.

Brett Hull, the Blues’ leading goal-scorer, missed the game because of a strained groin. But the Blues were still able clinch sixth place in the Western Conference, setting up a first-round matchup with the third-seeded Red Wings.