Lemieux's OT Goal Lifts Pens

The Pittsburgh Penguins almost wanted Mario Lemieux to take the night off and rest his sore back. Good thing for them he didn't.

Lemieux, not expected to play, scored a power-play goal 2:10 in overtime and the Penguins rallied after squandering a two-goal lead in the third period to beat Florida 3-2 Wednesday night.

The goal kept Lemieux from going without a point for three consecutive games for only the second time in his career. The first came in March 1997, several months before he retired.

Lemieux played despite hinting strongly Tuesday he might sit out because of the recurring back pain that has troubled him since he injured himself in practice Feb. 9. He missed nearly 150 games because of back pain during his first 12 NHL seasons.

"The back was pretty much the same," said Lemieux, who was averaging more than 25 minutes a game recently despite the sore back. "We got the (ice) time down to about six or seven minutes a period, where we wanted it to be."

Lemieux skipped the pregame skate Wednesday, and decided to play only after receiving therapy and back massage for most of the afternoon.

"The best thing for him probably would have been to stay off and rest, but this shows his drive and passion," defenseman Bob Boughner said. "It was tremendous for our team."

The Panthers didn't manage a shot until nearly 22 minutes into the game and trailed 2-0 when Alexei Kovalev scored at 5:24 of the third, only to tie it on goals by Pavel Bure and Viktor Kozlov.

Lemieux, who had gone scoreless in three of his previous five games, scored on the 4-on-3 by powering Martin Straka's pass past Roberto Luongo from the left circle dot.

The goal was Lemieux's 21st in 24 comeback games and ended Florida's four-game winning streak.

Florida coach Duane Sutter was upset with the officiating, especially the overtime penalty.

"Straka dove two or three times with no call. Lemieux dove on the penalty in the third period. Hey, if it can work for Lemieux, it can work for anybody," Sutter said.

"There's too many double standards. Lemieux hits (Lance) Ward from behind and it's no penalty, he wrapped his arm around him and brought him down. If Ward was doing that to Lemieux, it's an automatic penalty."

Luongo turned aside 30 of 33 shots and kept the Panthers in the game with several excellent saves down the stretch, including a sprawling save on Kevin Stevens with four minutes remaining.

Still, Luongo, who stopped 233 of the last 245 shots he faced going in, allowed more than two goals in a game for only the second time since Jan. 19.

Bure got the Panthers back into the game by scoring his NHL-leading 40th of the season at 9:52 of the third, one-timing Bret Hedican's cross-ice pass by Jean-Sebastien Aubin from the right circle.

Bure's goal was his ninth in five games and 17th in 13 games, coming on only the Panthers' 14th shot. They were held without a shot until Aubin closed his pads to stop Mike Sillinger's shot at 1:48 of the second.

Kozlov tied it at 13:17 of the third following a Penguins giveaway in their own end, taking Lance Ward's pass to sweep a shot under Aubin's stick as he skated through the crease.

Pittsburgh opened a 1-0 lead when Jaromir Jagr ended a six-game streak without a goal with his 32nd of the season at 7:47 of the first.

The Panthers' shot-free first period was the first by a visiting team in Pittsburgh since the Penguins joined the NHL in 1967 - but, remarkably, was Florida's second in a row against Pittsburgh.

The Panthers also didn't manage a sho on goal in the third period of a 2-2 home tie against Pittsburgh on Dec. 20. Until then, the Penguins had never held a team without a shot in a period in their history.

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