PITTSBURGH -- Mario Lemieux and Ashley Barrasso are linked by cancer, hockey and -- after Thursday morning -- the Olympic torch.

	Mario Lemieux watches as Ashley Barrasso, 14, begins her leg through the streets of Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Ashley, 14, the daughter of Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Tom Barrasso, received the torch from Lemieux, her father's former teammate and now the owner and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, as part of the two-day torch relay through Pittsburgh.

Mario, bothered by a hip injury that has kept him out of the lineup for all but three games since surgery in October, jogged the two-tenths of a mile without a problem.

"It is a lot more special to me because I'm playing in the Olympics. It is a great honor for me," Lemieux said.

When it's all over, the torch will have traveled 13,500 miles through 46 states en route to the opening ceremonies of the Winter Games in Salt Lake City on Feb. 8.

The moment was especially poignant for Ashley, 14, whose father, Tom, was selected for the U.S. Olympic hockey team Wednesday night.

"Ashley running with the torch today is a terrific day for her and our family, based on the look on her face it was worth it," said Tom Barrasso, who took last season off when Ashley was again diagnosed with cancer.

But the relay combination also gave Lemieux, the Barrassos and Pittsburgh, a startling reminder of how star-crossed these two lives are -- marked by uncanny comebacks and high-profile bouts with cancer.

Ashley was first diagnosed with neuroblastoma when she was 4 years old, when her father and Lemieux both skated for the Penguins in the midst of two consecutive Stanley Cup runs.

Given a 15 percent chance to survive, Ashley prevailed after chemotherapy, radiation and a bone-marrow transplant sent the cancer into remission.

"She has been through so much in her life -- to be able to run together ... we both had cancer in the past, it is special," Lemieux said.

Diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease in January 1993, Lemieux left the Penguins for six weeks of cancer treatment and returned to finish the season -- the first of three great comebacks in his career.

Lemieux took off the 1994-95 season, his body wearied by chronic back problems and the Hodgkins. He came back to win consecutive NHL scoring titles and retiring after the 1996-97 season.

Lemieux bought the team 1999 to rescue it from bankruptcy and returned to the ice last December.

Barrasso, 36, is 9-8-3 with a 2.21 goals against average, .922 save percentage and two shutouts -- his latest on Sunday against the Penguins -- in 21 games.

"It is a terrific experience at this point just to be selected and whatever my role I am looking forward to the experience," Barrasso said of the Olympics.

Lemieux, assuming he returns from hip surgery, will play in the Olympics for the first time for Canada.

Barrasso was selected to the U.S. team in 1984, but opted to turn pro and play for the Buffalo Sabres instead, which barred him from competing for what was then an all-amateur team.