It's all in the timing.

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Just trying to contribute Of the 16 goals the Penguins have scored in the last four games, Mario Lemieux has been on the ice for 13 of them and has had a hand in 12 of them (4-8-12). Joined at the hip The Penguins are 65-13-5 when both Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr score a goal, 3-0-0 this season. Testimony If Lemieux scores against the Capitals, he'll have a five-game goal scoring streak – the longest in the NHL this season. Hockey talk "If you bow down in front of him, like a god, it's not going to work." – Montreal defenseman Eric Weinrich on defending against Lemieux Mark the calendar Wed., Jan. 31 vs. Philly: Lemieux faces the team he "ended" his career against. Pittsburgh lost to the Flyers, 6-3, in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on April 26, 1997.

Mario Lemieux came back at a perfect time of the season – a four-game home stand and plenty of rest between games. The result was four goals and eight assists.

Now it's time for him to take his act on the road and endure the rigors of a real NHL schedule – back-to-back games on the road, two days off, a home-and-home series with the Islanders, one day off, home against Anaheim, travel, then a three-game road trip with only one day off between each game.

"I'm looking forward to it," he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "It will be fun to be traveling with the guys again."

But how fun will it be on his legs?

"I don't know how it will go," he told the paper. "I'll have to gauge it when it happens. The first night will be no problem, obviously. But if I'm a little tired the second night, then I'll have to change my game, wait for my chances and be patient. I can still be successful doing that. It's just a matter of waiting to see how I feel."

For the record, Lemieux hasn't enjoyed the same type of success on the road as he has at home. Of the 613 goals he scored his first time around the NHL circuit, he netted 330 at home and a paltry 280 on the road.

	Lemieux game-by-game
	Game	G-A-P	+/-	Shots	Min.
	Dec. 27 vs. TOR	1-2-3	+3	5	20:46
	Dec. 30 vs. OTT	1-3-4	+3	7	24:59
	Jan. 3 vs. WAS	1-1-2	+1	4	22:52
	Jan. 5 vs. MON	1-2-3	-1	5	20:42
	Totals/Avg.	4-8-12	+6	21	22:57

We've got witnesses
While it's possible for Lemieux to win the scoring title, it isn't probable – or is it? If Lemieux continues at his current pace of three points per game he will finish with 138. If Colorado's Joe Sakic, the league leader through Sunday, continues at his pace, he'll finish with 114.

That may sound like two "ifs" too many, but Lemieux has proven one staunch realist wrong already in his career – Scotty Bowman. Bowman coached Lemieux in Pittsburgh from 1991 to 1993.

"The year he came back and won the scoring title (in 1992-93), that was amazing," Bowman told the Toronto Sun. "When he came back (23 games into the season), Pat Lafontaine was way ahead (in the scoring race). I didn't think he could do it.

"He had to put together five and six points a night and the other guy was putting away two or three. That was an amazing feat to do that."

From the sympathy department
Toby Petersen is now the answer to the trivia question: Which player was reassigned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make room for Lemieux on the Penguins roster?

"If you're going to lose out to somebody, I guess he would be the best guy to lose out to," the rookie center said.

Good guess.

Showoff
When Lemieux returned to the ice, it seemed like he missed 3½ days, not 3½ years. When defenseman Bob Boughner returned after missing 23 games with a broken wrist, it seemed more like 3½ decades.

"I missed two months, and I felt like everything was so fast that I was in slow motion out there," Boughner told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "He comes back after three years and has 12 points in four games. It's sick."

Information from ESPN.com news services and newspapers were used in compiling this report.