Lead Pass

Games of Note Ottawa at Buffalo, Friday, 7 p.m. ET: Before Mario Lemieux came back, these two teams, along with New Jersey, were consodered the top of the heap in the East. Now, everything has changed, and there will be even more pressure on Buffalo to sign Mike Peca. Ottawa remains deeper than Buffalo, but if Dominik Hasek can shrug of some recent poor play – he was yanked in a home loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday – Buffalo has a good shot in this one. Boston at Florida, Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET: Murray and Murray are gone. With a league-low six wins, it wasn't a total surprise that GM Bryan Murray and coach/brother Terry got the boot – at least it spared Bryan of firing his brother. Let's see if it makes a lick of difference against the Bruins, who are putting on a little hot streak, going 4-2-1 in their last seven. Ottawa at Pittsburgh, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET: This will be a good test for Lemieux, as the Senators play a much better defensive game than Toronto. Goalies will be a huge factor, and Sens netminder Patrick Lalime is coming off a difficult home loss to the Capitals where he allowed four goals on 21 shots, including four goals on five shots by one player – Peter Bondra. Frozen ponderings… The most interesting matchup in the East now that Lemieux is back could be Devils-Penguins. The Devils have great skaters, and although none of their top forwards match Jaromir Jagr and Lemieux with size and skill, players like Patrick Elias and John Madden can create a game where the Devils keep the puck off Pittsburgh's sticks. The best defense can be puck possession. … There are so many juicy trade rumors out there – almost every one involving the Rangers – that a few should actually start happening. All Phoenix deals, once again, look to be on hold. But if the Rangers lose to Atlanta at home on Thursday, watch out. – Brian A. Shactman

PITTSBURGH – "We gave him so much room out there."

That's basically all Toronto coach Pat Quinn could say after his Maple Leafs allowed Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr to run roughshod all over the Mellon Arena ice in Pittsburgh's 5-0 win Wednesday night.

Nobody even touched Lemieux until 12 minutes into the game. Until he went to the net hard one time in the second period, no one knocked him down.

There are two reasons for this.

The first one is the obvious one. Quinn was right. The Maple Leafs didn't challenge Lemieux. They allowed him to pause with the puck behind the net several times. Lemieux is one guy you might want to take that calculated risk against and chase behind the net. Until he proves he can find the open man under duress, it's better to take away time and space. That way, he needs to think quicker and that's likely the rustiest skill in his repertoire due to his long layoff.

But even though the Leafs treated Lemieux as if he had a force field around him, Lemieux did his part to steer clear of a lot of potentially physical situations.

That's not wimpy. It's smart.

Lots of players would expend all their energy to keep up in such a situation, but Lemieux showed a lot of patience. He, like everyone else, saw what happened to Eric Lindros when he jetted across the middle of the ice in his first game back after a long absence. He chose to hang back, get comfortable and strike when the opportunity presented itself.

And Lemieux, like Brett Hull, has an amazing ability to find open spaces even if the opposition is focusing on him.

After the game, Lemieux credited changes in the overall NHL game rather than Toronto's lax coverage.

"I think we get a little bit more time now, and the game has opened up a little bit more," he said. "And you get to skate more freely with the puck, and you are able to make plays. So, that's a nice change."

We'll see how nice it is when teams come at Lemieux and challenge him physically. Odds are that Lemieux will continue to succeed – would you bet against him? – but he'll have to work harder than he did Wednesday. But don't base all conclusions on Lemieux's comeback until he plays the New Jerseys and Colorados of the NHL world.

The Ottawa Senators might even fall in that category. They come to town Saturday night.

Mailbag
During the season, I'll try to answer a question or two from ESPN.com users for every edition of In the Corners. If you want to get a question answered, click here and ask away.

James Hopper from Las Vegas, Nevada: I've heard that a possible trade could be San Jose's Steve Shields for Montreal's Martin Rucinsky. All season long, people have been saying that the Sharks need one more proven scorer. Is he our man, or are the Sharks trying to orchestrate another three-way trade like they did this time last year?

Response: Rucinsky would be great in San Jose. He's an excellent skater and can score goals. He would give them great depth up front. But there are a few complications with this potential deal, which is doubtful to happen. Rucinsky is out for at least another month with a knee injury. If he comes back in February and plays well, that's one thing. But no one will give up an NHL-level goalie for him until that happens.

The second complication is Shields. As much as Evgeni Nabokov has been great – and there's little evidence to doubt he can continue to play well long-term – he's still a rookie. Shields has been plagued by inconsistency, but he's still the goalie who beat St. Louis in the first round of the playoffs a year ago.

It could be a risk, but if general manager Dean Lombardi believes in Nabokov that much, a trade with Shields could yield the type of player to put San Jose on par with St. Louis and Colorado.

Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com.