Sports: Lemieux finds his groove

Lemieux finds his groove

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer

PITTSBURGH -- Mario Lemieux said he did not feel particularly well during Wednesday's warmups. He wasn't even hitting on all cylinders during the first period.

If he had, records might have been set.

As it was, he had two goals and three assists in the Penguins' 5-1 victory, passing Phil Esposito for seventh all time with 1,594 points.

"Sometimes, you don't feel great and you have a good night," said Lemieux, who has four goals and 10 assists in his past five games. "But I was able to see the ice very well and made some plays."

Tampa Bay played off Lemieux to try and limit his passing lanes. Lightning coach John Tortorella said any strategy would have been chancy.

"He's incredible," Tortorella said. "It's so hard to defend against him because ... he just wants you to go to him. And he's going to make the other people score the goal.

"If you (leave) him alone and take away the other people, he's talented enough, obviously, to score goals." Pittsburgh had the league's worst power play entering the game yet went 3-for-4. Lemieux had a goal and two assists.

"Look at what he's done for the power play," Tortorella said. "Last in the league, and it's probably the most dangerous power play in the league right now. He's something."

TWIST OF FATE: Mathieu Biron needs to have a few words with his stick company. As the Lightning defenseman swiped at a puck with 2:29 left in Monday's game against the Devils, his stick snapped near the blade.

New Jersey's Patrik Elias grabbed the puck, and only Nikolai Khabibulin's save on his backhander preserved a 3-2 victory.

"It was a brand new stick," Biron said. "Maybe it was a bad one."

With the problem averted, it was easy to look back and laugh. Biron said one of the referees even spoke to him on the bench.

"He's like, "What the hell happened?"' Biron said. "I whiffed, and the blade just flew."

Biron said he broke a stick during the second period and taped the new one before the third.

"I guess people on the bench were more nervous than I was," he said. "While the play is going on, you just try to do the best you can with what you have."

Tortorella said general manager Rick Dudley, reflecting on the franchise's tortured history, said that kind of freak play was "right up the Tampa Bay Lightning's alley."

But noting the Devils did not score, the coach said with a laugh, "Maybe we turned a corner there."

ODDS AND ENDS: Right wing Jimmie Olvestad returned to the lineup after missing four games with a concussion. ... Left wing Dave Andreychuk played his 1,410th game, passing Paul Coffey for 14th all time. ... Defenseman Grant Ledyard was a healthy scratch.