clarinews@clarinet.com (02/03/90)
PITTSBURGH (UPI) -- Penguins center Mario Lemieux scored three goals and assisted on another Friday to lead Pittsburgh to a 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Lemieux, with his 25th career hat-trick and fourth this season, extended his scoring streak to 41 games, the second-longest in league history behind Wayne Gretzky, who scored points in 51 consecutive games during the 1983-84 season. The Penguins took a 1-0 lead on Troy Loney's fourth goal of the season at 9:01 of the first period. Loney took a cross-ice pass from Mark Recchi and flipped a wrist shot past Oiler goalie Randy Exelby. Edmonton knotted the score 1-1 at 6:20 of the second period when Mark Lamb got the puck in front from Adam Graves and flipped it over Pittsburgh goaltender Wendell Young. The Oilers took a 2-1 lead 1:31 later when Geoff Smith scored his fourth of the season, an unassisted power-play goal, at 8:51. The Pens re-tied the score 2-2 at 11:18 of the second when Lemieux, the NHL's leading scorer with 106 points, wristed a shot over Exelby's shoulder from the left face-off circle for his 37th goal of the year. At 17:05, Peter Klima, scoring his 15th of the season, picked up a rebound from Craig MacTavish and put the puck past Young. Less than a minute later it was Lemieux again, scoring his second power-play goal, giving tying the game at 3 at 18:04 of the second period. The Penguins regained the lead, 4-3, with 0:27 left in the period when Mark Recchi took a pass from Lemieux in front and slid the puck into the net. The Penguins extended the lead to 5-3 at the 3:19 mark of the third period. Tony Tanti deflected in a shot by Zarley Zalapski for his 20th of the year. Lemieux's third goal, into an empty net with :33 to play, completed the hat trick and gave Pittsburgh a 6-3 lead.