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BOX SCORE
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Jamie McLennan isn't ready to say his
luck has turned, but stopping Mario Lemieux would boost any
goaltender's confidence.
Lemieux, playing despite back pain, was held scoreless in the
Pittsburgh Penguins' 4-2 loss Sunday to McLennan and the Minnesota
Wild. It was only the second time in 19 games Lemieux has gone
without a point since ending his 3½-year retirement Dec. 27.
|  | | Minnesota's Darby Hendrickson, left, knocks Pittsburgh's Darius Kasparaitis off his feet when his stick gets caught between Kasparaitis' legs. |
McLennan improved to only 4-14-6 despite a 2.42
goals-against-average. He stopped 25 shots and won back-to-back
games for the first time.
"I wouldn't go overboard," McLennan said. "But I would hope
my luck has turned. It's something you try to be patient with. We
lost a lot of one-goal games. Now, maybe our confidence has
turned."
Lemieux, who had back problems from 1990-97, was limited to
three shots in 26 minutes against McLennan.
"I felt OK out there, but obviously I'm not able to do some of
the things I normally do," Lemieux said. "I have to work with
what I have. In the second period I started to loosen up. A couple
of painkillers never hurt."
The Wild, coming off a 2-1 victory Friday at Dallas, completed
the most impressive back-to-back victories of their expansion
season. They are 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 games.
The Penguins pulled goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin in the final
minute and had another man advantage when the Wild's Brad Bombardir
was penalized for holding. The threat ended when Darby Hendrickson
stole a pass and Wes Walz flipped the puck from near the Wild's
blue line for an open-net goal with 32 seconds left.
The Wild's Stacy Roest broke a 1-1 tie 12:58 into the second
period, about two minutes after the first of two goals by the
Penguins' Robert Lang. The Wild's Jim Dowd scored the game's first
goal, 3:21 into the second period.
The Wild's Curtis Leschyshyn added a goal just eight seconds
after leaving the penalty box, 9:34 into the third period.
Leschyshyn took a pass from Antti Laaksonen behind the Penguins'
defense and beat Aubin.
"You always think about those situations when you're in the
box," Leschyshyn said. "You're always hoping when you get out for
an opportunity for a breakaway."
Lang scored with 4:16 remaining off a rebound on a missed shot
by Ian Moran.
Jaromir Jagr's assist on the goal by Lang was his NHL-leading
76th point, extending his streak of games with a point to 14. The
Wild's Marian Gaborik has scored a point in nine of his last 10
games.
Wild center Roman Simicek, acquired from the Penguins Jan. 13 in
a trade for Steve McKenna, assisted on the goal by Roest.
Game notes
The Penguins lost their first game against an expansion
team for only the second time since the NHL expanded in 1970. ...
Hall of Fame baseball player Kirby Puckett made the ceremonial puck
drop. ... The Wild played their first home game since Jan. 21. ...
The Wild and Penguins meet again Wednesday at Pittsburgh. ... The
Wild, who led 2-1 after the second period, improved to 18-1-3-1
when they are leading after two periods. ... Wild defenseman Sean
O'Donnell missed his first game because of the flu.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Minnesota Clubhouse
Lemieux in Penguins lineup, says back feeling better
RECAPS
New Jersey 1
NY Rangers 1
Minnesota 4
Pittsburgh 2
Montreal 4
Buffalo 3
Carolina 2
Anaheim 2
St. Louis 3
Dallas 3
Phoenix 3
Chicago 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Fresh from the penalty box, Curtis Leschyshyn scores on a Minnesota breakaway.
avi: 980 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Pittsburgh's Robert Lang beats Jamie McLennan for his first goal of the game.
avi: 512 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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