PITTSBURGH - Sidney Crosby may be dubbed the next "great one," but Mario Lemieux would like it to be known that his time has not yet passed.

Virtually all the hype surrounding the Pittsburgh Penguins this training camp has centered on Crosby, the 18-year-old No. 1 overall draft pick. But it has been Lemieux, the team's Hall of Fame owner/player and six-time scoring champion, who has quietly led the team in preseason scoring despite being set to turn 40 on opening night next Wednesday.

"I don't even think I really pay attention to age," Crosby said. "He's flying out there, still creating great things the same way he's always been. That's why he's the best. He can rise to the occasion. He can still really make a difference when he's out there."

Lemieux has seven points in three exhibition games. Having played only 10 regular-season contests the past 29 months, the three-time NHL most valuable player has appeared reinvigorated this fall to play in a league that has promised a more free-flowing offensive game and on a team that added Crosby and marquee free-agents Mark Recchi, John LeClair, Ziggy Palffy and Sergei Gonchar.

Lemieux, who purchased the team out of bankruptcy while in retirement as a player in 1999, traditionally has been one of the more outspoken critics of the clutching-and-grabbing that became rampant in the mid-1990s and lowered scoring.

"It would have been a lot more fun the last few years," Lemieux said. "But it's just the way the game has been played for so many years. Now we're starting a new era in the NHL and it's going to be exciting."

Thanks largely to the league-mandated crackdown on obstruction infractions, the Penguins have had 61 power plays - third in the league through Tuesday - in six games, scoring eight times.

Paced by Lemieux's four points, Pittsburgh's offense produced seven goals in a victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday when Lemieux was playing on a line with Palffy and Ryan Malone, who led the Penguins in goals during the last season played.

"It's a lot more fun to play with Ziggy and Ryan," Lemieux said. "Guys can make plays now, especially with the open ice in the neutral zone. You can skate and do the give-and-go. It will be an exciting year for us."

Primarily due to a brittle back, a battle with Hodgkin's disease and various other ailments, Lemieux hasn't played a full season and has averaged less than 34 games played in the last three seasons.

And because of Lemieux's age - Crosby was born just before the season Lemieux earned his first Hart and Art Ross trophies - it is unknown how many games Lemieux will play this season. But coach Eddie Olczyk said Lemieux's impact goes beyond on-ice production. His mere presence has done wonders for the team's younger players, many of whom grew up idolizing him.

"I believe just the way that Mario carries himself and the way he competes and the way he communicates ... he leads by doing those little things," Olczyk said. "People see the points and goals, but the example he sets is the highest standard there is.

"The way he is on a daily basis I think earns enough respect to push you to become better and know what's important at the end of the day."