BAD BOY IS LOOSE AGAIN : LEMIEUX RETURNS FROM SUSPENSION.

Byline: Dave Joseph Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

Fresh from a two-game suspension for injuring Detroit's Kris Draper in the Western Conference finals, the NHL's most-hated man, Claude Lemieux, is ready to make his first appearance in this year's Stanley Cup Finals.

That's right: A two-time Stanley Cup winner and last year's Conn Smythe Trophy winner - a man who has driven Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman to scream obscenities at him - Lemieux will be back in uniform tonight at Miami Arena when the Colorado Avalanche attempts to take a 3-0 series lead on the Florida Panthers.

Although the Avalanche is 2-2 with him and 4-0 without him over the last two series, Avalanche coach Marc Crawford says there's no doubt of Lemieux's status for tonight's game.

``Obviously, Claude is a huge part of this club,'' said Crawford, whose Avalanche outscored the Panthers 11-2 without Lemieux in the first two games. ``He did a terrific job with the guys in the (locker room); being a leader, being a guy who supports each and every guy on this team. He's been a major factor in our success throughout the whole year and into these playoffs.''

But Lemieux's tenacious - some say dirty - style of play has also been a major source of controversy through the playoffs. Not only did Lemieux serve a one-game suspension for sucker-punching the Red Wings' Slava Kozlov in the Western finals, but he sat out the first two games of this series for blindsiding Draper, an ugly incident that left Draper with a fractured jaw, a broken nose, a concussion and several severe facial cuts.

Lemieux said the incident was not intentional; Draper was simply caught off guard. ``It happens,'' Lemieux, 30, said. Nevertheless, it drove Bowman to shout obscenities at Lemieux from the team bus at McNichols Arena as Lemieux walked out of the building with his wife and 2-month-old child at his side.

Panthers coach Doug MacLean, who said the Draper incident was ``a bad scene,'' doesn't believe Lemieux's intent was to injure Draper.

``Claude didn't run him,'' MacLean said. ``I saw Draper's face and I have a hard time with it, but did Claude mean to do that? No. I don't believe anyone in the NHL would do that.''

Controversy is nothing new for Lemieux. A rookie on the 1986 Stanley Cup-winning Canadiens, Lemieux was known early in his career as the master of the dive. But his style has grown increasingly more aggravating. With Montreal, he once triggered a pregame brawl with the Philadelphia Flyers. He allegedly once bit the New York Rangers' Kevin Lowe. He was suspended three games last year for punching Brett Lindros on the bench. And trash-talking? Lemieux can do it with the best.

Even his linemate, Peter Forsberg, once said, ``He's a dirty little player, and I like that.''

Panthers forward Mike Hough, who has played against Lemieux for 10 years, said, ``He's a physical presence, and, along with that, his reputation for years is that he turns it up for the playoffs. He's extremely strong and he can goad you into penalties.''

Lemieux - the son of a Quebec truck driver who once said, ``I don't come from money, I come from a humble background and I appreciate what I do for a living'' - realizes he has many critics.

``Good or bad, you get criticized,'' said Lemieux earlier this week. ``We won the Cup last year (in New Jersey), I was the MVP, and got criticized. There's always something wrong, but (taking criticism) is part of my job. I get paid to get criticized. That's what comes with the glory. There's good days, there's bad days. It's how you handle it. Critics don't bother me.''

Draper told the Detroit Free Press he has discussed legal action against Lemieux. ``I've got a lot of good lawyers who told me they would work for me for free,'' Draper said.

``No problem,'' Lemieux said. ``He's welcome to do so if he wants. I've got some great lawyers who are willing to represent me.''

STANLEY CUP SCHEDULE Colorado leads series, 2-0 Game 1: Colorado 3, Florida 1

Game 2: Colorado 8, Florida 1

Game 3: Tonight at Florida, 5 p.m., Fox

Game 4: Monday at Florida, 5 p.m., ESPN

Game 5x: Thursday at Colorado, ESPN

Game 6x: June 15 at Florida, 5 p.m., ESPN

Game 7x: June 17 at Colorado, 5 p.m., ESPN

x-if necessary

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO Colorado's Claude Lemieux, who fractured the jaw and broke the nose of Detroit's Kris Draper, could be a headache for Florida.

Associated Press

Box: Stanley Cup Schedule (see text)