He's baaaaack. C Mario Lemieux made a rousing return to the ice after 3 1/2 years away on Wednesday, collecting a goal and two assists to lead the Penguins to a 5-0 blanking of Toronto. Lemieux centered a line with C Jan Hrdina and RW Jaromir Jagr. The unit combined for nine points as Hrdina had a goal and an assist and Jagr produced two goals and two assists. "Overall, I think it was a good performance for everybody and I'm glad it's over," said Lemieux. "That's what I had in mind, to play my first game and be successful and to play at a high level. I was a little bit surprised at how I played." The return of the Penguins' owner drew the largest crowd of the season, 17,148 to Mellon Arena. The team also issued some 200 media credentials, more than any game during Pittsburgh's last Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1992. ... Pittsburgh has won two in a row for the first time since a three-game streak from November 8-11. ... After getting just one goal in his previous eight games, RW Alexei Kovalev has scored in back-to-back contests.
