Stanley Cup Playoffs Roundup : Lemieux Ties Three Records in 10-7 Victory

For the first four games of their playoff series, the Philadelphia Flyers spent much of the time roughing up Mario Lemieux, the star of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The tactic worked so well, with unexpected help from Lemieux’s teammate, Randy Cunneyworth, that Lemieux, battered and bruised, was a doubtful starter in Game 5 Tuesday night at Pittsburgh. His worst injury, caused by his teammate, was a neck injury.

Lemieux, too big, at 6-4 and 200, to be intimidated, was ready for the opening faceoff. Ready is an understatement.

He tied a playoff record by scoring four goals in the first period and, in a wild scoring game, the Penguins outlasted Philadelphia, 10-7. The win gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead in the series.

Showing no sign that he was ailing, Lemieux also matched two other playoff records in addition to the four in a period set by Tim Kerr of the Flyers in 1985. He scored his fifth goal and eighth point when he scored into an empty net with 37 seconds left. Maurice Richard (1944), Darryl Sittler (1976) and Reggie Leach (1976) had five goals. Last spring, Patrik Sundstrom of New Jersey had eight points.

The rough-house tactics had limited Lemieux to three goals in the first four games. But in this one, he flexed a few muscles of his own, skating right in on goalie Ron Hextall from the start.

Until a couple of hours before game time, Lemieux could not turn his head.

“I had played mediocre hockey and my teammates expect more of me,” Lemieux, who said treatment took the pain out of his neck. “I had to come out and start putting the puck in the net.”

That, he did. Lemieux, in one of the great games in Stanley Cup history, had a natural (three goals in a row) hat trick in the first 6 minutes 50 seconds. He scored on a breakaway at 2:15, from close range at 3:45, and on another breakaway at 6:50.

The Penguins, who can clinch the series with a victory at Philadelphia Thursday night, had a 9-3 lead, but two goals by Kerr helped the Flyers pull to within two with almost three minutes left.

Montreal 3, Boston 2--One defeat is all the Canadiens were willing to put up with in this series. They put Patrick Roy in the nets at Montreal and he was too much for the Bruins once again.

Roy, unbeaten at the Forum all season, turned back 22 shots and ran his playoff recors to 7-0 and the Canadiens eliminated Boston, 4-1. Last spring the Bruins knocked out the Canadiens and reached the Stanley Cup final.

Defenseman Chris Chelios had a goal and an assist in the second period to send the Canadiens into the lead for good. Bob Joyce scored both Boston goals.

The Canadiens are a heavy favorite to face Calgary in the final round. Next they face the winner of the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh series.