By The Associated Press
The crowd came to see Sidney Crosby’s first home game in a Pittsburgh Penguins uniform. Instead, they got to see a show by the old man instead.
Mario Lemieux, who turns 40 next week and is more than twice as old as the Penguins’ most prized prospect since No. 66 himself, played as though he was 18 again with a goal and three assists Tuesday night in a 7-2 exhibition victory over the flu-weakened Columbus Blue Jackets.
Lemieux was on his home ice for the first time since a hip injury Nov. 1, 2003, against the Boston Bruins sidelined him for the rest of what was the NHL’s last season until now.
The Ryan Malone-Lemieux- Ziggy Palffy line, or some form of it, was on the ice for all but one Penguins goal against goalie Martin Prusek, who was pulled after Lasse Pirjeta’s goal at 12:23 of the second made it 6-1. Prusek allowed goals on six of the 19 shots he faced, two by Malone.
Lemieux scored his first goal since Oct. 11, 2003, though it won’t add to his career total of 683, when he jammed the puck over Prusek’s right shoulder in the first period to put Pittsburgh up 2-0.
Lemieux’s most artistic point came as he skated out of the penalty box early in the second period after being off for a high-sticking penalty. He took a breakout pass to start a three-man rush, kept control of the puck while almost jumping over defenseman Duvie Westcott along the boards and fed into the crease for Maxime Talbot’s goal.
Crosby, the No. 1 draft pick who is the NHL’s most awaited rookie since the Wayne Gretzky and Lemieux days, had a rather pedestrian home debut, though he set up Mark Recchi’s goal in the closing minutes. Crosby took a big hit in front of the net but, despite being upended, got the puck to the left side of the net to Recchi.
The Blue Jackets dressed 18 skaters, two more than they did Sunday night in Chicago amid a nearly team-wide flu epidemic. So many players became ill, the team closed its locker room Monday so it could be disinfected.
Capitals: Left wing Chris Bourque, son of retired defenseman Ray Bourque, was assigned to the Hershey (Pa.) Bears of the American Hockey League.
Hurricanes: Carolina signed forward Andrew Ladd, its 2004 first-round pick, to a three-year, entry-level contract worth more than $5.5 million in salary, signing bonus and performance incentives. Ladd is nursing sore ribs and might start the season with the team’s AHL affiliate in Lowell, Mass.
Maple Leafs: Forward Eric Lindros is sidelined because of a strained rib cage.
