"He's still Mario Lemieux": the Penguins superstar has a renewed sense of purpose as he aims to win another scoring title, save hockey in Pittsburgh , and perhaps catch Gretzky - again

Hockey Digest, Jan, 2003 by Rob Rossi

THE SEVEN-YEAR-OLD BOY WAS busy brushing kernels of popcorn from his oversized replica sweater when "he" did one of those things only "he can do." And so, even as the boy joined a gathered mass of people--most of them attired in the same replica sweater--inside Mellon Arena for a celebratory standing ovation, the seven-year-old remained confused as his hands clapped in approval.

"What happened?" he shouted in the direction of his father.

"Kovy scored ... watch," the father replied, pointing at the screen on the scoreboard. The replay on the score board's Jumbotron showed "Kovy"--Pittsburghers' affectionate slang name for winger Alexei Kovalev--taking a pass between the faceoff circles and whipping the puck between the pads of Atlanta Thrashers goaltender Milan Hnilicka.

The seven-year-old was not impressed. He, along with the other 12,161 in attendance, had seen such goals from Kovalev before.

However, what the seven-year-old failed to grasp, and what his father was quick to point out, is that the magic of the moment was not in Kovalev's shot, but rather the pass that made it possible.

"Did you see him?" the father questioned. "Did you see him make that pass?"

"Who is him?" the seven-year-old exclaimed.

"Mario! ... Mario! ... Mario Lemieuuuuuuuuux!" the father screamed. "Did you see that pass? That's one of those things only he can do."

Of all the absurd observations made by the fans in Section C 31 during the two-and-a-half hour course of an October hockey game--and there were many--none rang truer than the one made by this father to his seven-year-old son. That pass, a blind no-look effort that resulted in Lemieux placing the puck perfectly on Kovalev's stick all the while having a defenseman fide him along the right-side boards, was one of those things only he can do.

But, when it comes to Lemieux, those things are exactly what people expect.

"You're not going to score three or four points a night. But I'm sure going to try."

--Mario Lemieux

That Mario Lemieux is still doing "those things" at the age of 37 is nothing short of unbelievable; except in his adopted hometown, where, less than two years removed from his stirring comeback, Lemieux's brilliance is seemingly already yesterday's news.

The Wednesday night game against Atlanta attracted a crowd 4,797 below capacity. This despite the NHL's obstruction crackdown, which has resulted in a surprisingly successful start by the financially and subsequently talent-strapped Penguins and a style of play that early on was allowing Lemieux to shine as the league's brightest star. His hat trick of assists against the Thrashers gave him 10 points in a three-game stretch, all Penguins' wins, after a shutout loss against Toronto in the home-opener.

Included in those 10 points were four goals, including a trademark sequence in which he scored a game-winner from behind the cage by banking the puck off the pads of the Maple Leafs' Trevor Kidd in a rematch in Toronto.

"I've seen that goal at least a dozen times, and I'm still amazed," says Penguins coach Rick Kehoe, who in his 28th consecutive year with the club has witnessed every moment of the Lemieux era.

As for the pass that set up Kovalev's goal, "That's Mario," Kehoe adds. "It's what he does. And nobody else can do it, not with consistency."

Consistency has defined Lemieux, and not just on the ice. His contribution to the game stretches far beyond statistics--at least the ones found in the record books.

When asked by a reporter how he would like to be remembered, Lemieux answered years ago: "Hopefully, as a winner--somebody who helped the Penguins win two championships and keep hockey in Pittsburgh."

That was then. Since his return to the ice, and really from the day his ownership group purchased the Penguins out of bankruptcy in 1999, Lemieux's legacy has remained--more than any player league history--his direct link to the franchise that drafted him.

"Just go back to when he was drafted, the Penguins were on the verge of possibly moving out of Pittsburgh," Kehoe says. "If you look at it that way: From the day he was drafted to when he took over as owner to now ... if it wasn't for him, there wouldn't be a team in Pittsburgh. When it comes down to it, he is the Pittsburgh Penguins."

And now, just as it was twice before, the pressure is on Lemieux to save the Penguins.

"I don't look at him as owner, I look at him like anybody else--just a hockey player. Well, maybe not just a hockey player."--Alexei Kovalev

At any given Penguins home game, more than half of the fans inside Mellon Arena are sporting Lemieux sweaters--from the mesh, canary yellow ones the Penguins wore at home in 1984-85, Lemieux's rookie season, to the white with Las Vegas gold trim home versions introduced this past summer. These new sweaters feature the skating penguin emblem that Lemieux's Cup-winning teams made famous in the early 1990s. In a town where people live for nostalgia, the change was welcome.

"This is the Penguins," the father said as he pointed to the "new" old emblem on his seven-year-old son's replica home sweater. "And so is this ..." He turned the boy around to show the back of the sweater--adorned, as expected, with LEMIEUX and No. 66.