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Tuesday, February 26, 2002

By Dave Molinari, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

The Penguins' season will run for another 6 1/2 weeks or so, so it still is a bit early to settle on an epitaph for it.

But when the time comes, center Robert Lang's observation in the wake of one of their many exasperating losses earlier this month should get serious consideration.

"We don't get outplayed," he said. "We just get stupid."

He has a point, for if bad judgment and timing were criminal offenses, the Penguins probably would be hoping for a phone call from the governor right about now.

A penchant for self-immolation hasn't been their only shortcoming this season -- injuries to key personnel exposed the lack of NHL-caliber depth in the organization -- but the Penguins had to realize way back in September that they couldn't afford to give away points.

Certainly, not as many as they've squandered during the past five months. A sampling:

Oct. 6 -- The Penguins spot Anaheim, one of the league's least-imposing teams, three goals in the first 13 minutes of play in what becomes a 4-2 loss at Mellon Arena.

Oct. 10 -- After taking a 3-1 lead, the Penguins give the New York Islanders five unanswered goals in a 6-3 defeat at home.

Nov. 6 -- With goalie Arturs Irbe replaced by an extra skater, Carolina's Jeff O'Neill scores with 41 seconds left to salvage a 2-2 tie for the Hurricanes in Raleigh.

Nov. 7 -- The Penguins, looking terribly uninterested, put just 17 shots on Florida goalie Roberto Luongo during a 2-0 loss in Sunrise, Fla.

Nov. 10 -- Tampa Bay's Vaclav Prospal scores at 4:29 of overtime to give the lowly Lightning a 3-2 victory at the Ice Palace.

Nov. 23 -- The Penguins are virtual no-shows for a 5-0 loss in Nashville.

Dec. 14 -- Minnesota, a second-year team, scores on five of 21 shots during a 5-2 victory at Mellon Arena.

Dec. 16 -- The Penguins generate only 11 shots while allowing 49 in a 7-0 home loss to Carolina.

Dec. 22 -- Peter Bondra of Washington scores with eight-tenths of a second remaining in regulation to pull out a 4-4 tie at the MCI Center.

Jan. 29 -- The Penguins are protecting a one-goal lead in Philadelphia when Alexei Kovalev loses the puck to Flyers center Jeremy Roenick near the blue line, allowing Keith Primeau to tie score with under 18 seconds to play. Marty Murray of Philadelphia gets the game-winner at 1:47 of overtime after knocking a Billy Tibbetts pass out of air.

Jan. 30 -- San Jose breaks a 3-3 tie at Mellon Arena with three unanswered goals.

Feb. 9 -- New Jersey's Bobby Holik wins a faceoff from Randy Robitaille, then tips in a Brian Rafalski shot at 11:47 of the third to erase a 1-0 Penguins lead, and Rafalski gets the game-winner with 8.6 seconds left in overtime at Mellon Arena.

Feb. 10 -- Mike Wilson of the Penguins fans on a clearing attempt late in regulation, sparking a sequence that leads to Matthew Barnaby's decisive goal with 21.1 seconds to go in the New York Rangers' 4-3 victory at Madison Square Garden.

Every team, of course, gives away points over the course of a season, but few can afford it less than the Penguins. And the damage caused when they are tied or beaten by a lesser team -- or when they squander a chance to steal a point or two from a superior opponents -- registers not only in the standings, but on their psyches.

"You see how bright this locker room gets when you win games," defenseman Andrew Ference said. "How the attitude changes, and the confidence level. It's the exact opposite when you start dropping games and slide down the standings."

And, it would appear, out of anything resembling serious playoff contention.

Trivia question

What is the Penguins record for shots in a game? Answer at end.

Swedes' imprint

Sweden's legacy from the 2002 Olympics is sure to be its astonishing 4-3 loss to Belarus in the elimination round -- goalie Tommy Salo's almost comic mishandling of a shot from center ice will be one of the enduring memories from the Games -- but the team probably deserves better.

After all, Sweden might have been the finest club during the preliminary round, when it played an aggressive, entertaining style that showed the skills of its players in the best possible light.

"Everybody had so much fun with the system we were playing, the hockey our coaches were preaching," said goalie Johan Hedberg, Salo's backup. "It was the most positive hockey I'd seen in a long, long time.

"It was fun to watch, and fun to play. That's the kind of hockey they're going to try to teach down the road, to kids. I think we've seen how Swedish hockey will be played."

The Swedish game was built around puck possession -- "As long as we have the puck, they can't score," Hedberg said -- and was the antithesis of the tedious, clog-the-middle strategy so popular in the NHL these days.

"It was pushing people to be creative, to not throw the puck away," Hedberg said. "Stretch the other team out."

Hedberg acknowledged that Sweden's game was "a little bit run-and-gun" -- it looked to have more than a little in common with the approach taken by Team USA Coach Herb Brooks -- but perhaps allowing skilled performers to actually take advantage of their abilities is an idea that will catch on in coming years.

"Everybody goes in to not lose games," Hedberg said. "We wanted to go in to win games. We didn't care who was on the other side. We wanted to play to win."

Mullen missed 'Miracle'

Assistant coach Joe Mullen had a sensational career in the NHL -- he scored 502 goals, won the Stanley Cup three times and was inducted into the Hall of Fame -- and doesn't second-guess his decision to turn pro in 1979, after his sophomore season at Boston College.

Never mind that signing with St. Louis cost him not only two years of college eligibility, but a chance to play on the 1980 U.S. Olympic team.

Twenty-two years later, Mullen still doesn't regret joining the Blues, even though he was playing in the minors -- in Salt Lake City, coincidentally enough -- while the guys who could have been his teammates manufactured the "Miracle on Ice" at Lake Placid.

"I was happy and satisfied with what I was doing, and I was happy for the guys who won," he said. "I really enjoyed it. To watch those guys that I knew win that gold medal was great. I was more than content with what I was doing. I think I made the right decision for myself."

Dental work

Lang has become something of an expert on mouth injuries during the past couple of years. He had six teeth on the bottom row knocked out by a high stick two seasons ago, and three on the top row dislodged by a high stick from Atlanta's Tony Hrkac a month ago.

The blow from Hrkac caused an infection, forcing Lang to sit out two games and have two sessions of oral surgery to repair the damage.

"Now, we're crossing our fingers [that they remain rooted]," Lang said.

He still faces the prospect of off-season surgery to replace the half-dozen that were knocked out in March, 2000, which he insists was the first time in his career that he sustained any major damage in his mouth.

"Until then, I had all my teeth," Lang said. "All of a sudden, eight [sic] missing."

But despite all the quality time he's spent with dentists, Lang has no plans to wear a mouthguard. Mostly, he said, because there's no evidence it would do any good.

"It wouldn't help," Lang said. "The impact [was too great] both times. The first time I lost six, and the last time three. I asked the doctor, and he said a mouthguard wouldn't do anything.

"I think the mouthguard is good for concussions and little chips. But if you're going to get a stick or puck in the mouth, it doesn't really matter."

Trivia answer

The Penguins generated a franchise-record 65 shots on goal during a 12-1 victory against Washington, March 15, 1975.