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PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Mario Lemieux's comeback has been just as good
as he expected -- and even better for Jaromir Jagr.
Lemieux had a goal and three assists to become the 10th NHL
player with 1,500 points and helped Jagr reach 1,000 points by
setting up his two goals, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins past the
Ottawa Senators 5-3 Saturday night.
|  | | Mario Lemieux's goal was an empty-netter, but the center led both the Pens and Senators with seven shots on goal Saturday. |
Lemieux has seven points -- two goals and five assists -- in two
games since ending his 3½-year retirement. He scored an empty-net
goal with 13 seconds left, spinning in a bad-angle backhander from
the left circle even as center Alexei Yashin tried to swat away the
shot.
"I said when I was coming back that I expected to play at a
high level," Lemieux said. "I was prepared to play like I can
play. And I think I can play better than I've been playing."
The rest of the NHL probably didn't want to hear that.
As successful as Lemieux's comeback has been, it has benefited
Jagr even more by helping him out of a nearly season-long scoring
slump.
Jagr, the three-time defending NHL scoring champion, also has
seven points since Lemieux's return, with all four of his goals set
up by Lemieux.
"He's been playing awesome," said Jagr, who not long ago had a
scoring drought of only one goal in 12 games. "He's making a big
difference. He's making us play with a lot of confidence."
That's evident just from the difference between the Penguins'
last two Saturday games. The previous Saturday, two games before
Lemieux's return, they were blown out at home 8-2 by Dallas.
"We're playing with a great deal of confidence since Mario came
back," defenseman Darius Kasparaitis said. "He makes our team
very dangerous."
Jagr had two goals and two assists Wednesday in a 5-0 victory
against Toronto that was Lemieux's first game since April 1997.
The Penguins, finding just enough ice against Ottawa's
neutral-zone trap to shake its big scorers loose for goals, matched
a season high with their third consecutive victory. They also sent
the Senators to a fourth consecutive loss, tying a season high.
The Senators wasted leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 -- mostly because
of Lemieux's ability to constantly find the open man.
"Lemieux and Jagr, they are such unbelievable players," Ottawa
goaltender Jani Hurme said.
Lemieux, whose passing skills clearly did not deteriorate during
his long layoff, also assisted on Robert Lang's first power-play
goal in 25 games, in the first period.
"It's kind of surprising, to be honest with you," Senators
forward Daniel Alfredsson said. "You take 3½ years off, you think
you would lose a step or two or three. When he's playing out there,
it's like he's aware of where everyone else is, where the open ice
is. He knows before he gets the puck exactly what he's going to do
with it."
Lemieux got his 1,500th point at 1:28 of the third period,
taking the puck at the right side of the net and quickly feeding it
to Jagr in the slot for Jagr's second goal of the game and 23rd of
the season.
Jagr is the 59th player with 1,000 points. He reached that mark
on a goal at 5:55 of the second.
Lemieux took Hans Jonsson's feed behind the net and made a
wraparound pass to the crease, where Jagr fought through traffic to
put it past Hurme, who played for only the second time in 16 games.
Penguins goaltender Garth Snow stopped 28 of 31 shots for the
victory. He allowed goals by Petr Schastlivy, Alexei Yashin and
Martin Havlat.
Schastlivy scored 1:35 into the game with a backhander from in
front of the crease after Mike Fisher dug the puck out from along
the boards.
Lang scored on a power play at 10:15, but the Senators answered
with Yashin's 10th goal of the season, at 12:28.
Penguins defenseman Janne Laukkanen tied it at 2 with his first
goal of the season six seconds before the end of the first period,
sweeping in to put in a rebound of Martin Straka's shot.
Game notes
Ottawa is 0-4-2 since a 4-0-2 run and has scored only six
goals in its last four games. ... Ottawa center Vaclav Prospal was
a healthy scratch for a second consecutive game. ... Rene Corbet
returned for Pittsburgh after missing four games with a sore back.
Matthew Barnaby returned from a four-game suspension but did not
play; he has asked to be traded. Kip Miller and Roman Simicek were
dropped from the lineup.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Ottawa Clubhouse
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Lemieux, Jagr reach milestones
RECAPS
Edmonton 3
Montreal 2
Toronto 4
Florida 1
Buffalo 2
NY Islanders 0
Pittsburgh 5
Ottawa 3
Boston 1
Tampa Bay 1
Washington 6
Philadelphia 3
St. Louis 2
Phoenix 1
Vancouver 6
San Jose 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mario Lemieux feeds Jaromir Jagr for the goal and his 1,000th career point.
avi: 1510 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Mario Lemieux gets his 1,500th career point on his assist to Jaromir Jagr.
avi: 1093 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Just for good measure, Mario Lemieux adds his 30th career empty-net goal.
avi: 763 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Robert Lang gets the Penguins goal with a little help from Mario Lemieux and Martin Straka.
avi: 1026 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Alexei Yashin wins the faceoff then beats Garth Snow for the goal.
avi: 1067 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Mario Lemieux talks with ESPN's Darren Pang after his historic night.
wav: 460 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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