NOTEBOOK
Next game: Penguins at Boston Bruins, 3:08 p.m. tomorrow, FleetCenter. TV, radio: WTAE; WWSW-FM (94.5), WWSW-AM (970).
Scratches: The Penguins played without RW Jaromir Jagr (thigh, hamstring), RW Aleksey Morozov (charley horse), RW Tom Chorske (shoulder), D Peter Popovic (finger), G Peter Skudra and newly acquired D Dan Trebil. The Panthers did not dress D John Jakopin (abdomen), D Lance Pitlick (ankle), LW Cam Stewart and G Mikhail Shtalenkov.
Injury update: D Janne Laukkanen left the game two shifts into the second period after sustaining bruised ribs. ... Jagr skated with the Penguins again yesterday morning, working mostly on his stops and turns, and he was in good spirits afterward. He has targeted the home game Sunday against the Rangers for his return. He sat out his 11th consecutive game last night. ... Popovic did some extra skating and could be back in the lineup as soon as tomorrow. He has missed 18 games because of surgery to repair a broken finger. ... Morozov, who sustained a charley horse Monday when Devils D Vladimir Malakhov drove his knee into him, might return tomorrow. ... D Jiri Slegr, who had been doubtful because of a sore back, took a regular shift and scored the Penguins' first goal. ... C Steve Leach returned after missing eight games with a shoulder injury.
Panthers trip, trap and tip: The Panthers fell to 3-9-1 in their past 13 games after tipping three of the Penguins' four goals behind their own netminder, Trevor Kidd, and committing several unforced errors. Coach Terry Murray said, "We have problems with turnovers and giveaways that end up coming right back at us. They cost us every time." C Ray Whitney said, "It was our fault. We didn't handle ourselves in the defensive zone very well." The Panthers' ugliest gaffe came late in the second period, when D Bret Hedican forced a pass through the Florida slot. Penguins C Josef Beranek intercepted it and scored for a 2-1 lead. "That gave them lots of momentum," Murray said. "We never recovered from that one."
What's my line? With so much shuffling of personnel, the Penguins' coaches had plenty of work determining their forward lines and defense pairings. How they started last night: C Beranek, LW Martin Straka and RW Alexei Kovalev ... C Tyler Wright, LW Matthew Barnaby and RW Rene Corbet ... C Jan Hrdina, LW Robert Lang and RW Pat Falloon ... Leach, LW Rob Brown and RW Ian Moran. And the defense: Laukkanen and Bob Boughner, Darius Kasparaitis and Michal Rozsival, Jiri Slegr and Hans Jonsson. Most of these combinations are likely to change drastically, of course, when Jagr returns. The coaching staff is considering playing Corbet alongside Jagr, with Straka or Hrdina in the middle.
Tugnutt loves the action: G Ron Tugnutt, Laukkanen and Corbet, all acquired at the NHL trading deadline Tuesday, joined the Penguins yesterday. Only Tugnutt didn't play but said, "That's good. I had three days without skating." In his first meeting with the Pittsburgh media, Tugnutt avoided criticizing Ottawa management for trading two regular contributors for G Tom Barrasso. "I hope this works out for both sides," Tugnutt said. "I think Tom's credentials speak for themselves. He's won Cups, and I think that's what they were looking for. I had a lot of faith in myself that I could lead that team. But I guess that they didn't have the same faith in me, so they made the move."
Bure tips cap to Jagr: Jagr has missed 11 consecutive games because of leg injuries but still has an excellent shot to finish atop the NHL scoring list if he returns soon. He has 85 points in just 54 games, which impresses one of the players chasing him. "He had so many points in a few games, so you can expect he can win it," Panthers RW Pavel Bure said. "Plus, at this time of year, not too many guys are going to be getting a lot of points because teams are being more careful and not giving you so many chances, so that hurts the guys behind him. I think he can still get it."
Icy chips: One of the evening's loudest cheers came when Barrasso was announced as a scratch one final time. ... Despite an ailing back, Herb Brooks coached from the bench rather than the press box, where he had spent four of the previous five games. He reinjured his back while petting Aubin's dog Wednesday. "I just bent over and -- boom -- out it went," Brooks said. "I asked J-S who his attorney was. He'd better give him a call." ... Helped by a two-day rush of ticket sales which team officials attributed to GM Craig Patrick's five trades earlier in the week, the Penguins drew a packed house of 16,958 to Mellon Arena last night. That marked their 10th sellout, double their total last season. ... Roughly 3,000 tickets remain for the game Sunday against the Rangers.
MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT
WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON (18-42-7) did not play. With the acquisition of G Tyler Moss from the Flames, the Baby Penguins returned G Ryan Bach to the Panthers' organization. Moss, 24, was 18-12-5 for Kansas City of the IHL with a 2.98 goals-against average. He is expected to start tonight against Springfield.
WHEELING (21-37-4) did not play.
