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Friday, October 05, 2001

By Dave Molinari, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

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

C Mario Lemieux did not practice yesterday because of a strained hip muscle and is questionable for the Anaheim game. Lemieux got the injury during an exhibition game in Wilkes-Barre 13 days ago, and it caused him to sit out practice most of last week. His prospects for playing against the Mighty Ducks should come into focus a bit more today, which just happens to be his 36th birthday.

Rookie Kris Beech, who made his Penguins debut on a line with Lemieux and Stephane Richer during a 3-1 loss to Colorado at Mellon Arena Wednesday, got an unwanted souvenir of the occasion: A chipped front tooth. Beech said an Avalanche player punched him in the face during a first-period power play, and the blow drove the bottom edge of his face shield into his mouth. That probably wouldn't have caused a problem except that, for the first time in his memory, Beech was playing without a mouthguard, which he had inadvertently left at the practice rink. "I played all of junior with one," he said. "You get 10 minutes [of penalty time] if you don't wear it." Still, Beech wasn't overly concerned when he realized his mouthguard was sitting out Southpointe while he was at Mellon Arena. "Usually, I don't get hit in the mouth," he said. "So I was like, 'I won't get hit.' I should have knocked on wood, I guess. But it's a fake tooth, anyway, so I'm not in any pain." Despite his dental problems, Beech had a solid opening game, playing 19:06 and taking three shots, tying him for second-most on the team. "I felt way better than I did last year [while playing four games with Washington], way more comfortable," he said. "I was thinking quicker and was a lot stronger along the boards."

D Mike Wilson received heavy criticism while playing in Florida for not taking full advantage of his 6 feet 6, 229-pound frame, and wasn't much of a physical force during training camp, either. He was, however, a major presence against the Avalanche, recording a team-high seven hits. That means Wilson accounted for fully 25 percent of the Penguins' 28 hits and was credited with more than any two teammates combined. "He used his size to his advantage," assistant coach Randy Hillier said. "He made a lot of their forwards start to think twice about getting to the puck first." Hillier added that, "we're not looking for him to go out and have the perfect check every time he throws the body around, but with his size, he can be a presence out there, keep people honest."

The Penguins were one of the NHL's worst faceoff teams last season, and they didn't get off to a very good start in 2001-02, either. Colorado controlled 32 of 53 draws Wednesday, when Toby Petersen (4-2) and Jan Hrdina (3-0) were the only Penguins to win more than they lost. Lemieux fared the worst of any Penguins faceoff man, going 2-8, and Milan Kraft wasn't appreciably better at 3-10.

The Penguins' defense corps turned in a fairly solid performance against the Avalanche, and at least a bit of the credit for that belongs to the team's forwards, who made a concerted effort to get involved in their own end. But while Colorado's quick-strike capability probably convinced the centers and wingers that they had no choice but to work hard defensively, it remains to be seen if they will show the same commitment against lesser opponents. Anaheim, for instance. LW Kevin Stevens, though, said, "we're going to have to" stick with a solid two-way game against all opponents. "For us to be successful, we have to do it," Stevens said. "We have no choice."

Coach Ivan Hlinka said he plans to continue using five forwards on the No. 1 power play -- wingers Martin Straka and Alexei Kovalev manned the points for that unit -- at least for the short term. "Right now, for sure," Hlinka said. "But we'll see [as the season progresses]."

The Penguins' streak of 33 sellouts looks to be in significant peril, because about 3,000 tickets for the Anaheim game still were available yesterday. The Penguins have not played before a less-than-capacity crowd at Mellon Arena since Lemieux came out of retirement last December.