PENGUINS 101

It looks like center Jordan Staal's recovery from a knee injury has gone perfectly by the book and he'll be ready to play Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets as the Pittsburgh Penguins regroup from a losing four-game road trip.

The news isn't so good for winger Tyler Kennedy, however. TK has a high-ankle sprain and the team expects him to be out for 4-6 weeks. The injury came against the New Jersey Devils last Saturday when Kennedy got caught up with former Penguins teammate Alexi Ponikarovsky as they went into the endboards. 

Such has been the fortune of the Pittsburgh Penguins this season. Once a Stanley Cup favorite, the Penguins could be back on that perch if they ever get all their moving parts working together, including injured captain Sidney Crosby.

As things have gone with one major injury after another, the Penguins will be very fortunate to have home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs and will likely make life miserable for one of the new front-runners as the fifth or sixth seed. 

The sixth seed, of course, would be as ideal as home-ice and a fourth seed because of their potential opponent. The  Southeast Division looks like it will produce either the Florida Panthers (61 points), the Washington Capitals (61) or the Jets (58). The Pens would likely prefer any of these matchups to a knock-down, drag-out fight with the Philadelphia Flyers, the New Jersey Devils or even the Ottawa Senators.

Pittsburgh (30-19-5) sits exactly in the sixth slot right now with 65 points, one behind New Jersey, four in back of Philly, two up on Ottawa and three ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

They are only four ahead of the Caps and Panthers, of course. If the playoffs started today, the Panthers would be the third seed and the Washington Capitals would be relegated to the couch. (Can anybody say "Stupid, outdated and broken playoff rules?")

The Penguins need to get hot to stay clear of a lot of season-ending drama, and Staal hopefully will be the catalyst for just such a run.

From the moment he steps on the ice, Staal makes the special teams and second-line defense better. He also provides a scoring touch that admittedly comes and goes, but should help to take some pressure off the team's two scoring fiends, Evgeni Malkin and James Neal.

"I expect him to be used significantly in the game," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma told the Penguins' official site. "Maybe not quite totally to the 20-minute mark, but 15-plus minutes and on the second power play. Probably not 100 percent on the penalty kill."

The website reported that Staal skated with Pascal Dupuis and Matt Cooke in practice.

The Pens went 9-5-1 with Staal out of the line-up, but a lot of those wins came in overtime or shootouts.

In other injury news, Simon Despres is also nearing a return from a knee injury, but with seven healthy defensemen, it's unclear if there will be a spot on the roster for him.

Arron Asham is taking steps toward a return as well, skating on his own and in a pre-practice workout with Crosby and trainer Mike Kadar.

Staal got a cold welcome back to the roster in the form of a stick to the face in Friday's practice, but he should be ready to go for Saturday afternoon. There's no question the home crowd is ready to see him suit up.

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