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  Saturday, Oct. 16 7:30pm ET
Jagr salvages a point for Penguins
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Chicago Blackhawks made the mistake of neglecting Jaromir Jagr, and he quickly reminded them of how dangerous he is when left alone.

Jagr scored his second goal of the game with 1:31 left in the third period to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-3 tie on Saturday night, keeping the Blackhawks winless this season.

"You can't give him time and space or he's going to create a scoring opportunity," Chicago coach Lorne Molleken said. "He's the best player in the world."

Chicago is 0-3-3. The team record for most games without a win to start a season is eight (0-7-1) in 1953-54.

"We battled hard against a very skilled club," Molleken said. "If we play like we did tonight, we're going to get our wins."

The Blackhawks were relieved to learn that forward Jean-Pierre Dumont seemed to be recovering well after sustaining a concussion when he was knocked out by Pittsburgh defenseman Darius Kasparaitis' elbow in the third period.

"He's doing fine," Penguins physician Charles Burke said after leaving the Chicago locker room and attending to Dupont. Molleken said Dupont was knocked out by the hit but that he was conscious by the time he was wheeled off the ice.

Was the hit a cheap shot? Molleken was non-committal and said he's sure the NHL will review it.

Said Kasparaitis, "I was just going for the bench. I turned and the guy was out cold. I didn't realize what happened. I thought he was going to hit me and I just tried to protect myself and take the hit from him. I didn't try and take his head off or anything. I don't want to see a guy hit like that."

Chicago's Anders Erikkson got the tiebreaking goal for a 3-2 lead after his team had failed to score on a five-minute power play and a penalty shot.

The Penguins pulled goalie Peter Skudra for an extra attacker with 1:42 left and the gamble paid off when Jagr converted German Titov's pass from behind the net. Jagr knocked down the puck shifted to his backhand and lifted the puck past Jocelyn Thibault for his fifth goal in five games.

Eriksson scored one second after the extended power play expired. The Penguins overcovered the right side, leaving Erikkson open on the left to fire Sylvain Cote's cross-ice pass under the crossbar at 10:05 of the third.

The Blackhawks generated just two shots during the five-minute power play. In the middle of that advantage, Doug Gilmour was awarded a penalty shot when he was hooked on a breakaway by Kip Miller.

Gilmour went for Skudra's glove side but Skudra minimized the angle and blocked the shot at 7:44, keeping Gilmour scoreless on four career penalty shots. It was the first time Skudra had faced a penalty shot in 58 NHL games.

"I was in pretty good control," Skudra said. "I was kind of suprised. I expected him maybe to try to do more but he just shot it. I don't think that was a very hard shot so I just made the pad save."

With Chicago trailing 2-1 heading into the third, Jamie Allison tied the score at 4:21 of the third period. Skudra got his stick on Allison's shot from the left point but the rebound hit Pittsburgh defenseman Brad Werenka in the back and bounced back over the goal line before Skudra could cover it.

Robert Lang gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead with the only goal of the second period. Lang scored his third on a power play at 2:30, tapping in German Titov's pass before Thibault could block the side of the net.

After being outshot 8-1 in the first 10 minutes, the Blackhawks got the game's first goal at 10:37 of the first period. Cote beat Skudra from 35 feet for his first of the season.

Jagr tied the score at 4:00 when he took the puck away from Dave Manson along the boards, moved to the faceoff circle and beat Thibault on the far side.

Dumont was injured 5:04 into the third period when he was caught on the chin by Kasparaitis' elbow near the boards as both players were skating toward the puck. Dumont was prone on the ice as several of his teammates went after Kasparaitis.

Referees Paul Devorski and Brad Watson gave Kasparaitis a five-minute major penalty for elbowing and a game misconduct. Kasparaitis was playing his first game after missing training camp in a contract dispute.

 


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Kasparaitis hit injures Blackhawks' Dumont


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 Jaromir Jagr lights the lamp
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