Lemieux to miss the NHL All-Star Game
Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Pittsburgh Penguins star Mario Lemieux will not play in Sunday's All-Star Game because of a nagging groin injury. Lemieux decided Tuesday that he will not return to the Penguins' lineup until after the All-Star break in order to continue his recovery.
The Eastern Conference is already without Toronto goaltender Ed Belfour, Montreal forward Saku Koivu and Rangers defenseman Brian Leetch.
Lemieux still leads the NHL in scoring this season with 68 points in 41 games, despite the injury, which has kept him out of eight of the past nine games. He reached the 20-goal plateau for the 12th time in his career.
Last season, Lemieux was hampered by a hip injury that limited him to just six goals and 25 assists in 24 games.
One of the greatest NHL players ever, Lemieux has won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer six times, been named NHL First All-Star team five times and topped the 100-point mark in a season 10 times. He led the Penguins to their only two Stanley Cup titles (1991 and 1992) and was the NHL Rookie of the Year in 1984.
Lemieux has 674 goals and 995 assists in 853 regular season games and 76 goals and 96 assists in 107 postseason contests.
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