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Sunday, October 13, 2002

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Mario Lemieux had an instructional chat with linemates Aleksey Morozov and Alexei Kovalev yesterday morning, but it might as well have applied to all the Penguins.

The order was Hockey 101:

Go to the net.

	Mario Lemieux celebrates after setting up Dick Tarnstrom's first-period goal against the Rangers last night. (Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette)

"That would be a big plus," he said a few hours before faceoff against the New York Rangers last night at Mellon Arena. "That would certainly open things up for me. That's what I'm used to. I don't need two shooters in the slot. I need one going to the net and the other to be ready for a quick pass. Hopefully, something's going to change, and I think my two wingers understand that."

To be sure, something changed. It started with Lemieux's linemates -- and Lemieux himself -- heeding his directive, and it culminated in a 6-0 victory.

It was a far cry from the Penguins' offensive tap dance Thursday night in the 6-0, season-opening loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. That night, countless Lemieux passes were squandered because so few teammates ventured to the net. That prompted Coach Rick Kehoe to shuffle all his forward lines, most notably removing Jan Hrdina from Lemieux's unit in favor of Kovalev.

"It was important to go to the net, and it's why we talked about it this morning," Lemieux said after scoring on both his shots and setting up another goal last night. "In the first game, everybody wanted to shoot the puck from the outside or pass it in the slot. You always need one guy to go the net and open things up, so the other team has to make decisions."

The first example came 15 seconds after Morozov ignited the Penguins with a breakaway goal at 2:48 of the first period. And the guy who went to the net was the one giving the order.

Kovalev carried the puck along the left boards in the New York zone and flicked a harmless-looking shot toward the net. When goaltender Mike Richter dropped the puck into the crease, Lemieux eluded a check from defenseman Darius Kasparaitis and charged into the crease to ram it home.

"I just went to the net," Lemieux said. "I was surprised the puck was laying there and I just tapped it in."

The next example came at 5:55 on Morozov's second goal.

Defenseman Dick Tarnstrom's wrister from the center point found plenty of traffic in the New York slot, and that paid off when Kovalev deflected from the high slot to Morozov in the low slot. Morozov rapped it out of the air and behind Richter.

"Mario told me, 'Go to the net. Be in front all the time,'" Morozov said. "That's what I did right off the faceoff. It was a lucky bounce coming to me, but I was able to shoot the puck from there and score the goal."

"That's what Morozov did so well for us tonight," Lemieux said. "He went to the net and made things happen for us."

Tarnstrom's goal at 13:37 was another example, though not as obvious.

Lemieux dragged the puck behind the New York goal line and backhanded a soft pass into the slot. The puck went through its intended target, left winger Steve McKenna, but it also went past both Rangers forced to cover him because he was so close to Richter. It slid to Tarnstrom above the left hash, and he shot through the maze, including McKenna's 6-foot-8 frame, to score.

"Mario told me, 'Mac, go to the net,'" McKenna said. "I don't have to touch the puck. If I can cause a little commotion in front of the net and occupy one guy -- two guys, in this case -- I don't think Richter was going to see that shot coming through me."

Throughout Lemieux's career, he has worked best with players who take a direct path to the net, such as Warren Young, Rob Brown and Kevin Stevens. In the opener, he frequently whirled from the boards to pass to the slot or bank the puck off the goal, only to find no one home. It was like a quarterback making good passes to receivers running the wrong routes.

"There's a point to why he does that, why he makes those passes," Kovalev said. "That's where you score goals, right there in front. When he's done it in the past, guys have been there for him, and they've scored a lot of goals."

Lemieux led by example one final time, with his second goal 9:28 into the third.

As Kasparaitis strode toward him near center ice, Lemieux braced himself, lowered his right shoulder and leveled his former teammate. And, before the roar from the crowd of 14,813 had a chance to fade, Lemieux dashed for the net, accepted a pass from Morozov in the slot and buried a one-timer.

"He showed us what to do, and he told us what to do. And when it comes from him, you'd better start doing it," McKenna said. "I think that was the big difference, that guys were playing with a hunger to get to the net. That's where the puck is. All you have to do is go there to get it."