NEW JERSEY VS. TORONTO BUFFALO VS. PITTSBURGH COLORADO VS. LOS ANGELES DALLAS VS. ST. LOUIS

Saturday, April 28 Updated: April 29, 10:32 AM ET Mario super at both ends By Brian A. Shactman ESPN.com BUFFALO – Pittsburgh played Game 2 of its second-round series with Buffalo without Jaromir Jagr, the team captain and league leader in points. Shaking off a 3-0 loss in Game 1, the Sabres executed their game plan almost perfectly -- outshooting (22-15), outhitting (39-19) and outplaying the Penguins in just about every facet of the game. The Sabres even knocked Mario Lemieux cold and on his behind. Lemieux even led the Pens from the penalty box. And Buffalo still lost. "We played the best we can," said Sabres forward Donald Audette. Then why did they lose, 3-1? Just ask Mr. Lemieux. For one of the few times in his career, Lemieux was the central figure in a victory -- and a crucial momentum swing -- without scoring a goal or even getting one of the three stars. It's been documented ad nauseum that Lemieux supports Pittsburgh's newfound defensive approach to playoff hockey. But, in addition to that, especially without Jagr on Saturday, it meant for Lemieux to play a team-high 25:27 -- which would have been a game high had Lemieux not picked up a penalty at 16:08 of the third period -- and do everything from killing penalties to being the last man back on an odd-man rush. The most important thing Lemieux did also was the least likely -- absorbing a thunderous check delivered by Jay McKee during the most intense few minutes of the entire series. “ It knocked me out for a couple of seconds. ” — Lemieux on getting hit by Jay McKee At 8:06 of the second period, Pittsburgh defenseman Hans Jonsson slammed Dave Andreychuk into Pens goalie Johan Hedberg, knocking the goalie's mask off his head. The strangely quiet crowd erupted out of a slumber. Eleven seconds later, Audette stripped Darius Kasparaitis of the puck behind the Pittsburgh net and fed a wide-open Doug Gilmour out front, where Hedberg stopped him cold. The Buffalo fans confirmed their alertness with even louder cheers. Nine seconds after that, McKee absolutely leveled Lemieux in the neutral zone. "It knocked me out for a couple of seconds," Lemieux admitted afterward. Both players went down -- and out. Except, while a bloodied McKee had to leave the game with what is being called a "mild" concussion, Lemieux shook it off and kept playing. "To see Mario get hammered, shake it off and keep going, it was amazing," Kasparaitis said. "I saw how big and how important it is for us to have Mario Lemieux (today)." Less than two minutes later, Robert Lang scored to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead -- and it's no secret how important scoring first is for the road team. Put it all together, and it's not difficult to determine that Lemieux, with some obvious help from Hedberg, carried the Penguins on his back in Game 2. "Mario's playing out of his mind right now at both ends of the rink. It's crazy how good he's playing," said Kevin Stevens, who also played with Lemieux during his prime a decade ago. "He might not be doing what he did in the early '90s, but I think he's playing better than he's ever played -- even getting the puck out when he has to." Without Hedberg's point-blank save on Gilmour and the emotion drawn from Lemieux's toughness, the series' momentum might have turned the other way -- with the second game scoreless in front of a frenzied Buffalo crowd. "When you see him lead in that way, the whole team has bought into it," Stevens said. And Lemieux isn't shy about expressing that "buying into it" means winning, regardless of low style points and little merit for artisitic impression. "We'll take them however they come," Lemieux said. Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com. He can be reached at brian.shactman@espn.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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