Lemieux remains in Pittsburgh as Pens begin long road trip

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Mario Lemieux, still bothered by a left hip injury, will not accompany the Pittsburgh Penguins on their five-game road trip that starts tonight in Philadelphia.
Lemieux has missed 13 games since being injured Nov. 1 against Boston.
He has tried to practice only twice since -- he hasn't take the ice since Nov. 10 -- and the team has said only that he is out indefinitely.
Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk said Tuesday that Lemieux has not been re-evaluated since Nov. 17, and there is no update on his condition.
The Penguins have denied Lemieux is considering retiring again after hurting a hip for the second time in three seasons. He missed much of the 2001-02 season with a right hip injury.
General manager Craig Patrick said the team is no longer projecting when Lemieux might return because previous estimates were wrong.
"We've tried that 14 times already," Patrick said.
Team president Ken Sawyer said the Penguins remain hopeful Lemieux will be ready to play again in the near future.
With Lemieux and forward Rico Fata (knee) out and Martin Straka now traded to Los Angeles, Pittsburgh will be missing three of its top seven scorers during the trip to Philadelphia, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Atlanta.