The Associated Press

CHICAGO — Mario Lemieux broke his silence and accused Adam Graves of the New York Rangers of intentionally hurting him in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“It was intentional, no question about it,” the Pittsburgh centre said before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. “I've never been hit that hard in my life.”

Lemieux's left hand was broken when Graves slashed him early in the second game of the Patrick Division final. Graves, who was assessed a minor penalty, played the third game, then was suspended for the rest of the series while Lemieux sat on the sidelines with the injury.

The Pittsburgh superstar was expected to be out for a month, but came back to play in Game 2 of the Wales Conference final against Boston.

Lemieux was angry when it was suggested that he faked a serious injury.

“There are always going to be stupid people in the world,” he said. “They can believe whatever they want.

“My hand was broken. If it was only bruised, I would have been back earlier.”

Lemieux said there was “no question” in his mind that the slash, which came at the start of a Pittsburgh power play, was premeditated. Graves hit Lemieux with a two-hander across the gloves, dropping him to the ice.

“I kill penalties, too,” Lemieux said. “I hit the gloves also once in a while.

“But to take a swing like he did … that certainly came from the coach. A contract was out on me in that game.

“I'm not saying Roger Neilson told Graves to go after me, but he told his players to go after me.”

Though Lemieux had scored a playoff-leading 15 goals heading into Saturday's game, he said he has not been at full strength as a result of the injury.

“The first few games were certainly painful,” he said. “It's still not 100 percent.