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Friday, January 26, 2001

-- By Dave Molinari, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

LOOKING AHEAD

Penguins vs. Thrashers, 7:38 p.m. tomorrow, Mellon Arena. TV, radio: Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh, WWSW-FM (94.5), WBGG-AM (970).

NOTEBOOK

LW Kyzysztof Oliwa, acquired from Columbus for a third-round draft choice Jan. 14, was one of 17 Penguins to skate during an optional workout at Southpointe yesterday. C Mario Lemieux, RW Jaromir Jagr, RW Alexei Kovalev and G Garth Snow topped the list of those who did not practice. LW Josef Beranek was held out because of a groin problem -- team officials said it is impossible to predict when he will resume playing -- and RW Matthew Barnaby stayed off the ice because of a bruised hip incurred when he slammed into the boards during a 3-1 victory against Montreal on Wednesday at Mellon Arena. Barnaby said the injury, which restricted his playing time against the Canadiens, is not serious and will not prevent him from playing against Atlanta.

Lemieux provided all of the Penguins' offense during the Montreal game, pushing his total of career hat tricks to 40. Wayne Gretzky, who recorded 50, is the only NHL player to have more. "Forty is a ridiculous number," said LW Kevin Stevens, Lemieux's linemate. "It's hard to fathom." Stevens has shown a bit of a scoring touch over the years, too -- his resume is highlighted by 55- and 54-goal seasons -- but said he has managed just nine hat tricks during his career. What's more, Stevens said if he were to have any chance of matching Lemieux's total, "they'd have to make the net like a soccer net." With 14 goals and 12 assists in 13 games -- a two-points-per-game average -- Lemieux might seem to be operating at something close to peak efficiency. Not so, he said, because "I've still got to get my legs back."

RW Aleksey Morozov doesn't have a goal in his past 27 games -- his most recent one came Nov. 10 against New Jersey -- but has played reasonably well during the past two games while filling in for Beranek on the No. 3 line. Still, Coach Ivan Hlinka gives him a less-than-glowing review. "He has to go to the net with the puck," Hlinka said. "He likes to play in the corner sometimes, but he has to get more shots during the game. He has to improve upon his productivity; it's not the best." Morozov has one goal, eight assists and a team-worst plus-minus rating of minus-10 in 41 appearances.

Montreal played an excruciatingly conservative game Wednesday, but the Penguins were able to resist the temptation to try to open up the game too much. That would have played directly into the Canadiens' hands -- their strategy was built around forcing, then capitalizing on, turnovers in the neutral zone -- so the Penguins opted to wait for opportunities rather than straining to create them. It wasn't necessarily an entertaining approach, but it was pretty effective. "We have to do that more," Lemieux said. "Especially here at home."

Oliwa, who has not played since Oct. 28 because of a broken right arm, figures to take over the role as the Penguins' primary enforcer when he moves into the lineup after the all-star break, but LW Steve McKenna and D Bob Boughner filled that job enthusiastically when Montreal D Sheldon Souray tried to rough up Lemieux midway through the first period Wednesday. Both bellowed for teammates to leave the ice so they could get on, and there was no question both wanted a crack at Souray. "We were fighting to see who was going to get in there first," Boughner said. Souray rejected an offer to fight with McKenna, then ended up squaring off with Boughner a few seconds later. That sequence delivered a message about the Penguins' willingness to protect Lemieux and provided the first sparks in what had been a dull game. "We were a little stale until then," Boughner said.

MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT

Wednesday's results

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON (24-13-5-1) did not play. G Sebastien Caron, who started the season with the Penguins, is tied for first in the AHL with three shutouts. He has a 9-7-2 record and 3.19 goals-against average.

WHEELING (12-25-6) did not play.