Lemieux leaves game with injured groin
January 7, 2003 Print it
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Mario Lemieux left Tuesday night's game with the New York Islanders in the second period with a groin injury and didn't return.
It was unclear when the Penguins' captain/owner was injured, but he lifted Pittsburgh into a 1-1 tie with his 20th goal of the season early in the second. He has a league-high 68 points this season.
Lemieux, 37, logged 10 shifts totaling 7:46 of ice time in the first period but only four shifts and 2:50 in the second before he left the game.
It is the 12th time that Lemieux has reached the 20-goal mark in a career that has already landed him in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Lemieux, who scored a career-high 85 goals in the 1988-89 season, has only failed to reach 20 three times in 15 NHL seasons.
He has played in 40 of Pittsburgh's 41 games this season, his third since returning from a 3 1/2-year retirement in December 2000. A hip injury limited Lemieux to just six goals and 31 points in 24 games last season.
Various injuries led to Lemieux's retirement in 1997 after he helped the Penguins to championships in 1991 and 1992 and won three MVP awards and six scoring titles. The Hall of Fame waived its three-year waiting period to induct him immediately.
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