Lemieux, Forsberg All-Star Captains

NEW YORK (AP) â€” Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Peter Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche will be the captains in the NHL All-Star game on Feb. 4 in Denver. <br><br>The league on Tuesday

Wednesday, January 31st 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) â€” Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Peter Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche will be the captains in the NHL All-Star game on Feb. 4 in Denver.

The league on Tuesday also named Scott Niedermayer of the New Jersey Devils to the North American squad. He replaces injured St. Louis Blues defenseman Al MacInnis.

Lemieux, who returned to the NHL on Dec. 27 after being away from the game for 3 1/2 years, will captain the North American squad in his ninth All-Star game appearance. He has 15 goals and 16 assists in 15 games.

``I was a little bit surprised,'' he said after a three-point performance in Pittsburgh's 6-3 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday night. ``I have not played in that many games. It's truly an honor to go to Denver as captain.''

Lemieux holds the record for most points â€” six in 1988 â€” in an All-Star game.

Forsberg will lead the World team in his fourth All-Star game. Niedermayer's only other All-Star game was in 1998.