NEW JERSEY VS. PITTSBURGH COLORADO VS. ST. LOUIS

Tuesday, May 22 Devils end Lemieux's storybook season Associated Press EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Mario Lemieux's season ended as it started, with him sitting on the periphery watching his team play without him. Lemieux But so much happened between the season opener in the owner's box, to playoff elimination in the penalty box. The Pittsburgh Penguins' hopeful run in the Stanley Cup playoffs ended Tuesday night, short of their goal. A 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils ended the storybook season. In fact, the series ended with no goals from Lemieux or Jaromir Jagr, the NHL's scoring champion, in a five-game loss to the defending champions. "Obviously it's disappointing right now," the 35-year-old center said. "But when you look back, it was a lot of fun to be part of the National Hockey League again." Lemieux, the owner of the Penguins, ended his 3½-year retirement and resumed his Hall of Fame career in late December. After nearly regaining his form, he got the Penguins into the playoffs, helped them beat Washington in the first round, and rescued them from elimination against Buffalo. "It's a tough grind out there, but there's no excuses," Lemieux said. "I did my best to get us to our goal, but it doesn't work out every year." When the final buzzer sounded, ending the Penguins' season, Lemieux was in the penalty box after cross-checking John Madden, one of his main agitators. "I learned a long time ago, you don't laugh at your opponent," he said. By the time the Devils reached the Eastern Conference finals, Lemieux didn't have much left to give. "I probably ran out of gas in the Buffalo series," said Lemieux, who had six goals and 11 assists in the playoffs. Down by a goal and facing elimination in the final minute of Game 6 against the Sabres, Lemieux scored the equalizer to force overtime. The Penguins won that game and won again in overtime in Game 7 to advance. "To come back after a long layoff and play 26 minutes a game in the playoffs is probably not a good thing," he said. Pestered by Bobby Holik, and a throng of Devils, Lemieux managed only three assists in the series. The Penguins scored only seven goals in the series, and were shut out twice at home as they went from 1-1 to an insurmountable 3-1 hole. "It wasn't so much Holik," Lemieux said of the rugged New Jersey forward whose job it was to shut him down. "It was a five-man unit, and he had a lot of help." Lemieux, who had 35 goals and 41 assists in 43 regular-season games after coming back, wasn't able to take over like he used to do in his younger days. "You don't dominate in the playoffs anymore," Lemieux said. "It's a team game and that's how you win in the playoffs." He had two assists during a big second period in Game 2, the only one the Penguins won, and added another Tuesday night when Pittsburgh cut the deficit to 3-2. It was the last goal Pittsburgh managed in this special season. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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