{"id":1785,"date":"2013-05-15T10:01:00","date_gmt":"2013-05-15T10:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=1785"},"modified":"2015-01-08T17:48:24","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T22:48:24","slug":"mario-lemieux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/05\/15\/mario-lemieux\/","title":{"rendered":"Mario Lemieux"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The winning goal by Rob Brown, Flyers goalie is Ron Hextall, #28 is Flyers Kjeill Samuelisson and Pens Mario Lemieux #66 (The Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Zarley <\/a>
Zarley Zalapski congratulates Lemieux on scoring his 5th goal to put the Flyers away 10-7, Apr.26, 1989 (The Pittsburgh Press photo). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Lemieux <\/a>
Lemieux is greeted by Dave Hannan after scoring in the first period against the Flyers, Apr. 26, 1989 (The Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Coach <\/a>
Coach Gene Ubriaco congratulates Mario Lemieux, Apr. 26, 1989 (The Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Mario Lemieux might \u2013 might<\/em> \u2013 be able to laugh at this picture and his Teen Wolf playoff beard now, two dozen years after it was taken. But at that moment, there was nothing amusing to the 23-year-old Penguins captain as he faced the press just after his team was jettisoned from the 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs.<\/p>\n

The post-season appearance was the first for Pittsburgh\u2019s French-Canadian sauveur<\/em> and the team\u2019s first since 1982. Led by Lemieux, whose 199-point regular season stands as \u00a0the franchise\u2019s record and\u00a0the fifth-most all-time, the Penguins were poised for a deep playoff run after an opening round sweep of the New York Rangers.<\/p>\n

Notoriously rugged cross-Commonwealth antagonists the Philadelphia Flyers were the Penguins\u2019 Patrick Division Finals opponents. Pittsburgh opened the series with a 4-3 home victory and the teams traded wins to the tune of a 2-2 series tie.<\/p>\n

Then, in Game 5, Lemieux went positively nuclear in a 10-7 win with a five-goal, eight-point night that set or tied four NHL post-season single-game records \u2013 most goals in a game, goals in a period (4), points in a period (4) and points in a game \u2013 and remains as one of the single greatest playoff performances\u00a0in hockey history, all while dealing with a nasty neck injury.<\/p>\n

The Post-Gazette\u2019s Penguins\u2019 beat writer Tom McMillan, now a vice president with the team, wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen an athlete come up with as potent a game as he did tonight,\u201d said center Dave Hannan, one of the Penguins\u2019 blue-collar players who stood in awe. \u201cHe started so fast, and everyone else just picked it up because they wanted to be a part of it. It was unbelievable. Wow.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“Lemieux, who couldn\u2019t move his neck when he awoke Monday morning, reported less pain and considerably more range of motion when he showed up at the rink last night. \u201cI felt pretty good,\u201d he said. No kidding.”<\/em><\/p>\n

With momentum and a 3-2 series lead a trip to the Wales Conference Finals \u2013 and perhaps beyond \u2013 seemed imminent. But sometimes destiny takes the scenic route.<\/p>\n

McMillan wrote:“At least now, Mario Lemieux will shave his playoff beard.”<\/em><\/p>\n

“It was a scraggly little thing anyway \u2013 several weeks worth of determined facial growth that, in the end, reminded us how young these Penguins were. If you can\u2019t put forth a full playoff beard, you\u2019re not quite mature enough to win a Stanley Cup. These things take time\u2026”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough to accept right now, but we have to learn from this,\u201d Lemieux said \u2026 \u201cHopefully we can regroup next year and go as far as the finals.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He was off by a year. The Penguins missed the playoffs the next season, but they\u2019d win two consecutive Stanley Cups after that, with Lemieux earning back to back Conn Smythe trophies \u2013 sans playoff beard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mario Lemieux might \u2013 might \u2013 be able to laugh at this picture now.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesMario Lemieux<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[944],"tags":[964,971,1182,1035],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/tumblr_mmt79cXl9r1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C976&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2144,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/01\/14\/lemieux-on-the-ice-in-philadelphia\/","url_meta":{"origin":1785,"position":0},"title":"Lemieux on the ice in Philadelphia","date":"January 14, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The Pens were on the verge of true glory \u2014 the team went onto win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/tumblr_mgfmqgUb1d1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1076%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2505,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/09\/19\/badger-bob-the-penguins-coach\/","url_meta":{"origin":1785,"position":1},"title":"\u201cBadger\u201d Bob, the Penguins coach","date":"September 19, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"We smile when remembering Badger Bob\u2019s slogan: \u201cIt\u2019s a great day for hockey.\u201d","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/tumblr_mak6rdRqCO1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C808&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8682,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/05\/23\/great-moments-in-pittsburgh-sports-history-1990-2004\/","url_meta":{"origin":1785,"position":2},"title":"Great moments in Pittsburgh sports history: 1990-2004","date":"May 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Post-Gazette\u2019s Out of the Archives: Sports is a photographic tour through the city\u2019s rich sports history. 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