ALL OF SUDDEN, PENGUINS BACK IN CONTENTION.

Byline: Alan Robinson Associated Press

Their youngest player resembles another goaltender named Patrick. Their best player is again doing a passable imitation of Mario Lemieux.

Just when the Pittsburgh Penguins looked to be too old, too tired and too talent-thin to make another run at the Stanley Cup, Lemieux is back on his game. And the Penguins had moved back into first place in the Northeast Division early this week.

``The Penguins are back to where they were a few years ago,'' Islanders coach Mike Milbury said after Pittsburgh's 5-3 victory Tuesday night. ``Mario and Jaromir (Jagr) have been lighting it up with (Ron) Francis, to the detriment of the league.''

Going into Friday's game with the New York Islanders, they were 17-3-3 since a 5-12-1 start threatened to submerge their season barely six weeks after it started.

The turnaround has been startling not only for its rapidity, but its fury. The same team that couldn't win for a month on the road now hasn't lost there for a month, all the while going 11-3-3 at home.

Even more remarkably, they've done most of it with a rookie goaltender, Patrick Lalime, who had never played an NHL game until November.

``Before I got here, you kept looking at the standings and seeing this team at the bottom and it made no sense,'' defenseman Darius Kasparaitis said. ``Now, we're playing well and getting to where we should be.''

To get there, the Penguins credit three divergent but, ultimately, decisive factors: 1) The trade, 2) The transition and 3) The rookie.

First, general manager Craig Patrick ran out of patience during the Penguins' worst start (2-8) of the Lemieux era, making three trades within 48 hours. Their deals delivered a much-needed physical presence in Kasparaitis and five solid role players, and also seemed to shake Lemieux and Jagr out of their scoring funk.

Until then, Lemieux, who may retire next spring, seemed disinterested and distracted. He scored only 12 goals in his first 29 games and appeared to be playing without passion or emotion.

But the trades and a line change by coach Eddie Johnston that placed him alongside Jagr and Francis have reignited not only his scoring, but his enthusiasm.

``That line makes coaching as useful as an Edsel,'' Milbury said. ``It's totally unpredictable, totally fascinating to watch at times and frustrating when you're the opponent.''

The Islanders, for example, outshot Pittsburgh 20-1 in the first period Tuesday, only to be buried by a four-goal avalanche in the second. Lemieux had three assists, giving him 14 goals and 14 assists during a 10-game scoring streak.

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Photo

Photo: Mario Lemieux, practically dormant at the start of the season, had 14 goals and 14 assists during a recent 10-game scoring streak.

Daily News File Photo