Lemieux expects to play tonight

The Penguins owner-captain practiced Thursday, the first time since Dec. 7.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Penguins owner-captain Mario Lemieux practiced Thursday, the first time since being hospitalized Dec. 7 with a rapid heartbeat, and expects to play tonight against Buffalo at Mellon Arena (7 p.m.).
Lemieux, who ranks seventh in scoring in NHL history, has missed four games since doctors determined he has atrial fibrillation, a fluttering of the heart that can be treated with medication.
The Hall of Famer had several episodes of rapid heartbeat earlier this year, and he recently missed two games with what the team said was the stomach flu. One of those times, he was being checked for the rapid pulse.
"I'm feeling good," Lemieux said Thursday after a busy day in which Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk was fired and replaced by Michel Therrien. "It's something I have to deal with for the rest of my life, but the medication takes care of that."
Passed stress test Monday
The 40-year-old Lemieux had a stress test Monday after doctors determined they had settled on the right formula for his medication. He skated twice earlier this week before practicing again with the team.
Before his recent layoff, Lemieux, who last played Dec. 3, looked noticeably sluggish on the ice, and he hopes he can start playing better now that the problem has been diagnosed.
"I feel a lot better, I don't feel as tired or as fatigued," he said. "I do feel a big difference, which is nice."
Despite not scoring a goal in eight games, Lemieux is fourth on the team in scoring with seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points in 25 games. He has one goal and two assists in his last 10 games, and recently played four consecutive games without a point for the first time in his career.
Lemieux is one of the top players in NHL history despite an ongoing series of medical problems.
Previous medical problems
He survived a bout with Hodgkin's disease in 1993, winning a scoring title even while missing a month of the season for cancer treatments. Before that, he couldn't play for two-thirds of the Penguins' 1990-91 Stanley Cup championship season because of a rare bone disease that occurred following back surgery.
After ending a 44-month retirement to resume his playing career in December 2000, he missed two-thirds of the 2001-02 season with a hip injury that required surgery and all but 10 games in 2003-04 for another hip injury that needed surgery.
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