Lemieux addresses hometown media, fans

Penguins owner and captain Mario Lemieux stood before the media Tuesday at Mellon Arena and acknowledged the obvious: He's still hurting.

"The surgery took care of a couple of things that were wrong with my hip," Lemieux said. "I'm still having the pain I had in training camp.

"I'd love to be 100 percent and healthy and playing the way I did for the most part last season. It hasn't been that way so far. Not knowing what the problem is has been very frustrating for everybody."

Lemieux has tried everything imaginable, from hip surgery to a series of pain-killing injections, to ease the pain that has limited him to six goals and 29 points in 23 games.

Nothing's worked over the long haul, and Lemieux isn't anticipating a miracle recovery any time soon.

"We're still trying to find out exactly where the pain is coming from," he said. "That's always difficult. There are so many nerves and tendons and ligaments and muscles involved with the hip. That's a tough area to pinpoint where the problem is. I guess rest would certainly help, but there's not much time to rest now.

"I don't see over the next week or so that it's going to improve that much. I'm going to do whatever I can to go back out there and help my team get into the playoffs. That's always been my goal here every year that I've played. And I've played many times when I was hurt; that's always difficult to do. We'll see what happens in the next few days."

Lemieux said he intended to play tonight against the Los Angeles Kings and to reassess his condition on a day-to-day basis thereafter.

As for the level of play Lemieux is hoping to attain, all bets are off on that, as well.

"I don't know," he said. "I'll do my best, as always."

The Penguins were in 12th place in the Eastern Conference and seven points behind the eighth-place New York Rangers prior to last night's Rangers-Devils game.

Lemieux also addressed the criticism fired his way for classifying the recently completed Olympics as his "priority" this season and for skipping three games in the three weeks preceding the Olympic break (all were part of a back-to-back scenario for the Penguins). Lemieux captained Team Canada to the gold medal in Salt Lake City, Canada's first in 50 years.

"Obviously, I was very disappointed by some of the comments that were made," Lemieux said. "I think if you look at my history over the years with this organization, I've always put the franchise first. That's not going to change in the future.

"I had one chance to play in the Olympics and I took advantage of it and came out on top, and that's what I wanted to do. But if you look at my history, the Penguins have a special place in my heart and in my life. I'm always going to do what's best for the franchise and for the fans that have supported this franchise since I came here in 1984 and that's not going to change.

"That was my only chance to play in the Olympics. I had to make sacrifices here and there. It was all worth it in the end."

It was worth it, Lemieux said, even though "I was not able to be 100 percent and I think it showed in the way I played. I was very cautious where I was going on the ice and not getting caught too deep out of position, because I knew it would have been tough for me to get back. I played more of a patient game and more of a defensive game."

That's the way he's played throughout most of this season when he's played. Other than a four- or five-game stretch during a six-game winning streak from Jan. 17-26, Lemieux has rarely resembled his former dominating self on the ice.

"A lot of times this year I played being 50 or 60 percent," he said. "That's the way it goes sometimes. I was able to have some pretty good games in that stretch where my hip was feeling better. But, obviously, the last few games before the Olympics I wasn't feeling that great. I was a little bit concerned just trying to get to the Olympics at that stage.

"I was feeling pretty good during that stretch. We had done a couple things during that stretch to make it better, obviously, but you can't keep doing that stuff forever. That's why I had a relapse. I've had a few (pain-killing) shots over the last couple months. That's one of the reasons I was feeling better, because I didn't have any pain and I was able to skate freely and do some of the things that I'm used to. But when the pain is there, especially with a leg injury or a hip injury or a back injury, it really shows in your game.

That's the way it's been for me for most of the year."

Lemieux said he didn't know if another hip surgery would be necessary following the season. All he knows at present is when he attempts to lift his right leg it "triggers pain," and that the condition is "something I have to deal with.

"It'll be a lot tougher with the NHL style," Lemieux said. "You have to fight through a lot of hooking and grabbing and all that stuff, in the neutral zone especially. The Olympics was easy to skate. You never had a stick on you in the neutral zone.

"Especially at this stage of the season, to go out there with everybody fighting for a playoff spot, you have to be 100 percent to compete. That's why it's so difficult and frustrating for all of us right now."

That said, Lemieux isn't ready to throw in the towel on himself or his team.

"No, no, no, there's 25 games left, a lot of points out there," he said, over-estimating the Penguinss' remaining schedule by one game. "We still have a lot of talent here in Pittsburgh. That's one thing that we've always had over the years, and a lot of character.

"Everybody wants to make the playoffs real bad and I think that's going to show over the last two months."