Feb 28, 2003 By Alan Robinson Ap Sports Writer 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – When their fragile bottom line forced the Pittsburgh Penguins to trade All-Star forward Alexei Kovalev to the New York Rangers 21/2 weeks ago, no one had a clue how to replace his missing offense. Not general manager Craig Patrick, who knew none of the four players arriving from the Rangers could do so.

Not owner-player Mario Lemieux, who signed off on the deal but seemed so depressed by it that he barely went through the motions in his next game, a 3-0 loss to Ottawa.

But just when the team that once enjoyed a seemingly endless supply of goal-scoring talent to complement Lemieux – Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, Kovalev – had run out of scorers, along came Tomas Surovy.

His NHL career was only seven games old going into Thursday night’s game at Nashville, so the Penguins realize it is much too early to suggest the 21-year-old might be the next Jagr or Kovalev, or even the next Robert Lang or Aleksey Morozov.

Still, Surovy – his name is pronounced Suh-ROVE-ee – has given the Penguins what they lacked most in the doom-and-gloom days immediately after the Kovalev deal.

Hope.

Following his recall from Wilkes-Barre (AHL), the former Slovakian amateur star immediately produced three goals and three assists in seven games – nearly matching Kovalev’s production (3 goals, 4 assists) with the Rangers.

“I like the way he’s playing,” Lemieux said.

“He’s a smart player. He’s very patient with the puck, which is nice to see in a young guy who’s only played a few games in the NHL. When he gets the puck, he doesn’t get rid of it for nothing.”

Surovy’s strong start hasn’t turned around the Penguins; they lost five of eight after the trade, and a tough weekend road trip Nashville, Colorado and Dallas may effectively end their playoff chances.

No matter, Surovy has shown he can do the one thing the Penguins and their offense-loving fans covet most: put the puck in the net, and do it often.

Surovy not only scored a goal in three of his first five games, he also set up goals.

He made two beautiful passes on goals by Lemieux and Martin Straka in a 4-3 loss Sunday to New Jersey.

Yes, those were his linemates, too; in less than three weeks, he’s made the unlikely transition from playing in the relative anonymity of the minors to skating alongside hockey’s biggest star.

The 21-year-old Surovy’s arrival after a relatively brief minor league career – 42 goals in 103 games – visibly energized Lemieux, who had five goals in six games going into Thursday’s game.

Penguins coach Rick Kehoe initially feared Surovy might be intimidated by playing on Lemieux’s line, but he disproved that by taking a team-high seven shots Tuesday against the Kings.

He didn’t need long to display that shooting touch, either.

In only his second NHL game, he waited patiently for New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur to go down, then calmly lifted the puck over one of the NHL’s best goalies.

“At first, I was glad when I woke up because then I knew it wasn’t a dream,” Surovy said.

“I was just excited to be here. Now, I know I can’t stop. I’ve got to work hard in practice, work hard in the next game.”

And, he might add, work hard to keep the Penguins competitive and fiscally solvent until the NHL gets its finances straightened out.

If nothing else, Surovy has given Lemieux, who hasn’t committed to playing next season, another reason to come back.

“He knows how to find the net,” Kehoe said.

“That’s the one thing we’ve been looking for, someone to score some goals.”