NHL: Blame Mario?

Before Game 6 of his Penguins, series against the Buffalo Sabres, Mario Lemieux told the press that should Pittsburgh get eliminated from the Semi-Finals for the second year in a row, the blame should fall on him. And then he tied the game with 1:18 left in regulation. They don?t call him "Super Mario" for nothing.

Martin Straka and Alexei Kovalev both ended the game with a goal and two assists apiece; Straka's was the game-winner. But the Penguins were less than 90 seconds from being eliminated from the Eastern Conference semifinals in six games for the third straight year when Lemieux was able to whack the puck past Dominik Hasek, forcing a Game 7. It was only the second goal Lemieux had scored in the series and one more than teammate Jaromir Jagr.

After losing Game 5 to the Sabres 3-2, Lemieux dodged the implication that he should be held accountable for the Pens losing. The next day, however, he told reporters that we would take the blame. And all this comes after Lemieux publicly called for Jagr to step up his game before the series began.

By all accounts, Pittsburgh is looking like the very picture of instability. Who's calling the shots on the team, owner Mario or coach Ivan Hlinka? Have they been using their new left-wing lock defense too much or too little? What were Jagr and Hlinka really arguing about before Game 5? And then you have Lemieux's comments about Jagr and Jagr?s comments about the Penguins, all of which has become a distraction that the Penguins don't need during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Throw in the restricted free agents that the Pens need to sign for next season and the increasing likelihood that Jagr will be traded, and the picture you get is very chaotic indeed. The projected weakest link before the Playoffs has become their brightest point, that being the play of rookie net minder Johan Hedberg.

It's not surprising that Mario should feel frustrated. Defense tightens up during the NHL playoffs and there's less room on the ice for a skilled player like Lemieux to work his magic. Buffalo Sabre coach Lindy Ruff would need to have his head examined if he let his team go "Run-and-Gun" against a team that boasts the offensive talents of Lemieux, Jagr, Straka and Kovalev. And Mario has been a target in this series as well. Sabre tough-guy Vaclav Varada got the stick up in Lemieux face and put the superstar out of part of the second period of Game 6.

But now here comes a Game 7 for the right to play the defending champion New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals. One game: the winner moves on and the loser hits the golf course. This is certainly the time where a Mario Lemieux can shine. So can a Jagr and a Hasek. So can a Hedberg and a Varada for that matter. No matter the outcome, in a series that goes to a Game 7, the fans always win. Game 6 was a great hockey game and Game 7 should be even better.

And for that, I blame Mario.