RICHMOND, Va. — For all Mario Lemieux’s dramatic accomplishments on and off the ice, his 2002 Olympic gold medal often flies under the radar, at least for me.
In researching this strip, I watched a few videos of his performance from those games, including a compilation of all Canada’s goals in the Salt Lake City tournament, and it was a supremely entertaining reminder of the greatness of post-first-retirement No. 66.
Especially impressive was his maneuver on Canada’s first goal in the gold medal game against the U.S., faking a shot on a Chris Pronger pass, but allowing it to go through his legs instead to a waiting Paul Kariya, who buried it behind Mike Richter to tie the game at 1-1.
Mario the elder statesman may not have been as electrifying as Mario the phenom, but both of them were the best player on the ice:
ROB ULLMAN / DKPS
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