Penguins Rally to Beat Sabres

Before welcoming back Mario Lemieux, Jan Hrdina took matters into his own hands, sparking the Penguins to a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at Buffalo, N.Y.

“The last game we got killed 8-2 and it was kind of embarrassing in front of our fans,” Hrdina said. “We just wanted to make sure we could come back and work hard and don’t just wait for Mario to come back and do everything for us. Obviously, it’s good to have confidence to play.”

The Penguins won for only the second time (2-4-3) since Lemieux--the team’s owner and former star--officially announced his intention to end his 3 1/2-year retirement.

After Vladimir Tsyplakov gave the Sabres a 3-1 lead midway through the first period, the Penguins scored four consecutive goals.

Sabre Coach Lindy Ruff was disturbed by the loss, only Buffalo’s fourth at home.

“We made some bonehead mistakes that you can’t make against that team,” he said.

Atlanta 5, Toronto 3--Hnat Domenichelli scored twice as the Thrashers took a four-goal lead in the first period before holding off the Maple Leafs at Atlanta.

Milan Hnilicka stopped 34 shots for the Thrashers, who reached .500 for only the second time in franchise history. Hnilicka has won five of his last six games.

The Maple Leafs, who have lost five of six, got within 4-3 before Donald Audette’s empty-net goal.

Tampa Bay 3, Carolina 2--Rookie scoring leader Brad Richards had a goal and an assist to lead the Lightning at Tampa, Fla.

Richards set up Tampa Bay’s first goal early in the second period and then scored his 11th of the season later in the period to give Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead.

Nashville 5, Colorado 2--Scott Walker scored a career-high three goals and Mike Dunham made 28 saves to lift the Predators at Nashville.

Patric Kjellberg scored a goal, originally credited to Walker, and Marian Cisar added one for the Predators.

St. Louis 5, Columbus 0--Rookie Brent Johnson stopped 24 shots and Pavol Demitra scored two goals and had two assists to lead the Blues at St. Louis.

Around the League

Sabre center Curtis Brown will miss two to four weeks because of a sprained right knee ligament. . . . The Columbus Blue Jackets recalled left wing Steve Maltais from the Chicago Wolves of the International Hockey League. . . . Pittsburgh defenseman Janne Laukkanen returned to the Penguin lineup after missing 18 games with a strained knee. Defenseman Darius Kasparaitis also returned for the game against the Sabres after sitting out three games because of a bruised foot and injured rib.