PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby did not make the trip to Long Island for Tuesday's game against the Islanders simply because he was not going to play so there was no reason for him to go on a one-game trip with his teammates. He remains back in Pittsburgh working through his rehab as he nears a return to the ice.
 
Penguins coach Dan Bylsma addressed Crosby's status Tuesday morning:
 
"He's still in the process of his rehab. While we'd all like to put a timetable on it, we haven't. It's not about missing games or projecting when that game might be, he has to still go through the process. He's progressing really well. You see him on the ice, his level of compete, speed and skill is great to watch, and we're still going through that process. I think everyone would like to know when game one is or what a timetable is, but we're still in the process of going through his rehab and that doesn't have a timetable on it."
 
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UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Based on what we saw in the morning skate, we're going to speculate that Evgeni Malkin returns to the Penguins' lineup Tuesday night at Nassau Coliseum against the Islanders. Coach Dan Bylsma said Malkin would be a game-time decision, but if the Russian superstar plays, it would be his first game since Oct. 13.

If we're right, this is what the Penguins lineup should look like against the Islanders:

Steve Sullivan - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Chris Kunitz - Jordan Staal - Pascal Dupuis
Dustin Jeffrey - Joe Vitale - Craig Adams
Matt Cooke - Richard Park - Arron Asham

Paul Martin - Kris Letang
Brooks Orpik - Deryk Engelland
Matt Niskanen - Ben Lovejoy

Marc-Andre Fleury will start in goal, and Brent Johnson will serve as the backup.
 
If Malkin doesn't play, look for Mark Letestu to get the call, which could shake up the rest of the lines as Jordan Staal might move up to center Neal and Sullivan.

Here's what the Islanders' lineup could look like, including Rick DiPietro's return to the lineup as Evgeni Nabokov's backup.

For more on tonight's game, check out the preview here.

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UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Despite the fact that Evgeni Malkin skated with James Neal and Steve Sullivan during line rushes as well as on the Pittsburgh Penguins' first power-play unit, coach Dan Bylsma said Tuesday morning that Malkin availability for tonight's game against the Islanders wouldn't be made until game time..

Malkin has missed the last five games and seven of the last eight with a sore knee -- the same the Russian superstar had surgically repaired last season.

Asked what could change between the morning skate and the time he has to submit his lineup for the game against the Islanders, Bylsma joked that he just wanted to have a secret over the media for six hours.

Bylsma, though, said strength and skating is not what is holding Malkin back. Then again, he wouldn't say if anything is holding him back.

"His strength is there," Bylsma said. "I think the skating that he's demonstrated this year is stronger than what we saw from him last year."

Bylsma did announce that Marc-Andre Fleury would be the Penguins' starting goaltender.

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UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- A full-bearded Rick DiPietro says he feels good and he's just trying to stay sharp as he waits his turn to get back in the New York Islanders net.

This is all good news for the Islanders because it was only two weeks ago that the oft-injured goalie suffered a concussion in practice, which could have made his first positive offseason of workouts in years irrelevant.

"Just keep fine tuning," said DiPietro, who will serve as Evgeni Nabokov's backup Tuesday night against the Penguins. "It's nice to be able to go out there now, skate and feel good."

DiPietro was Al Montoya's backup for the first two games of the season before suffering a concussion in practice on Oct. 12. He hasn't dressed in a game since.

"It's going to be good to be in that game atmosphere again, be in the locker room with the boys and have that excitement," DiPietro said of his role as the backup Tuesday. "It should be a good game."

If he's ready to back up, that obviously means he's ready to play, but DiPietro said he's not at all bummed that Islanders coach Jack Capuano chose to ride Evgeni Nabokov after his 29-save performance in a 4-2 loss at Florida on Saturday.

"You just work. You can only control a couple of things in life and how hard you work is one of them," DiPietro said. "The main thing for me being here now is to win, and it's an exciting time for this team and this organization. I just want us to win. I just want us to be successful and whatever way I can chip in and help, I'm going to do it."

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UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- This should be the Islanders lineup for Tuesday's game against Pittsburgh.
 
Matt Moulson - John Tavares - PA Parenteau
Michael Grabner - Frans Nielsen - Kyle Okposo
Brian Rolston - Josh Bailey - Blake Comeau
Matt Martin - Marty Reasoner - Jay Pandolfo

Mark Streit - Steve Staios
Andrew MacDonald - Travis Hamonic
Mark Eaton - Mike Mottau

Evgeni Nabokov will start in net. Rick DiPietro will serve as the backup.
 
Islanders coach Jack Capuano said defenseman Milan Jurcina (groin) and forward Nino Niederreiter (groin) are getting close, but neither is ready to return to the lineup. Jurcina practiced with the team Monday, and Niederreiter could re-join his teammates in practice next week.

For more on tonight's game, check out the preview here.
 
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UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Evgeni Nabokov will start in net for the second straight game when the Islanders play the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night at Nassau Coliseum. Rick DiPietro will dress as the backup for the first time since suffering a concussion in practice on Oct. 12.

Nabokov made 29 saves in a 4-2 loss at Florida on Saturday night. He also made 29 saves in a 4-2 win over the Rangers on Oct. 15 to earn his first win as an Islander. Nabokov is 8-1 with a 1.62 goals-against average and .939 lifetime against the Penguins.

DiPietro served as the backup to Al Montoya for the first two games of the season, but suffered a concussion in practice on Oct. 12 when Brian Rolston's shot went off his mask.

"It's early in the season, but obviously with Nabby he's someone I didn't really know," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "He's a character guy, a great teammate and there's no question on a big stage, like we had here the other night against the Rangers, he played very well for us and he also gave us a chance to win the game down in Florida. I don't know where my expectations are, but he's certainly on his way to being that guy that I thought he was."

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NEWARK, N.J. -- Martin Havlat will make his Sharks debut tonight and he'll play on the second line with Logan Couture and Ryane Clowe. San Jose coach Todd McLellan has talked about how Couture and Clowe have to be better than they have been through four games, and hopes Havlat's presence will give them a jolt.

"Hopefully this is a catalyst to get them going," McLellan said.

McLellan said he will try to manage Havlat's minutes depending on how the forward feels, but he expects the speedy right wing to be flying tonight.

"Usually when guys come back, their first game is a good one and you have to watch them in Games 2 and 3 after that," McLellan said. "We hope we get that from him tonight."

Devils coach Peter DeBoer expects Havlat to be dangerous.

"He's another talented weapon they're adding to the arsenal," DeBoer said. "It doesn't change the game plan, but he's another guy you have to deal with. It spreads their offense over two lines and makes it a difficult matchup."

DeBoer also expects the Sharks to play with desperation because they're 1-3-0 and need to start their six-game road trip on a positive note.

"Obviously they're one of the best teams in the League and they're not where they want to be, which tells you there is going to be some desperation in their game," DeBoer said. "That makes them very dangerous. We have to be prepared for that."

The Sharks will have extra incentive tonight because Joe Thornton is playing in his 1,000th NHL game, and defenseman Colin White is returning to New Jersey as a visitor for the first time in his long career.

"White and Thornton shouldn't be the motivators for our team; it should be getting a win and playing properly for 60 minutes," McLellan said. "We've played well in a lot of the games, but not for a full 60. We've made some errors that have cost us, and we've talked about that -- how it's been on our tape, on their tape and into the net. We have to clean that up."

The Sharks are averaging over 40 shots per game, but they've scored only 10 goals.

"I'd like to see us get more determined around the opposition's net," McLellan said. "With the amount of opportunities we've created, not many have come on second and third chances."

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NEWARK, N.J. -- It's only a four-game snapshot, but Ilya Kovalchuk is looking good and feeling good despite logging ice time befitting a No. 1 defenseman, not a first- or second-line left wing.

Kovalchuk enters Friday's game against San Jose fourth in the NHL in ice time per game at 27:01.

Last season, he was 45th in the NHL -- although first among forwards -- at 22:33 per game.

"The season just started, so it's too early to say anything, but it works," Kovalchuk, who has 4 points through four games, told NHL.com. "The team played well and the coach decided to play me a lot of minutes. I was ready for it and I like to play a lot."

Devils coach Peter DeBoer said Thursday that the minutes Kovalchuk are playing are more a result of a favorable early-season schedule. New Jersey played its first four games over an eight-day span, and hasn't played since last Saturday.

Also pumping up Kovalchuk's minutes is the fact that the Devils have averaged over four power plays per game this season, and he rarely, if ever, comes off the ice when the team has the man-advantage. Kovalchuk also is playing some on the penalty kill.

"Obviously he's not going to play that much as the season goes on, but we've had a favorable schedule early here that we can give out some bigger minutes to some guys because of the way it's set up," DeBoer said. "It's not going to continue at that amount, but he's gotten my confidence that he's a big-minute guy. He has that type of engine and he's that type of skater that you can play him and it's not going to have an adverse effect on him the next day."

Kovalchuk agreed, saying his body feels fine after he plays a lot of minutes, especially when it comes during a Devils win.

"It's the worst when the team didn't play well and you played a lot of minutes," Kovalchuk said. "If nothing comes of it, that's when you get tired. But I'm used to playing a lot and it never bothers me. I want to play a lot and I feel much better when I play a lot of minutes."

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NEWARK, N.J. -- Here are the likely lineups for the Devils and Sharks based on this morning's practices. Tonight's game also will be Sharks captain Joe Thornton's 1,000th NHL game.

DEVILS
Zach Parise - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Ilya Kovalchuk - Jacob Josefson - Nick Palmieri
Mattias Tedenby - Petr Sykora - David Clarkson
Eric Boulton - Rod Pelley - Brad Mills
 
Andy Greene - Adam Larsson
Bryce Salvador - Anton Volchenkov
Henrik Tallinder - Mark Fayne
 
Johan Hedberg will start in net. Keith Kinkaid will be his backup.
 
Martin Brodeur (bruised shoulder) remains out of the lineup. Cam Janssen, who took rushes with the fourth line, likely will be a healthy scratch.

SHARKS
Patrick Marleau - Joe Thornton - Joe Pavelski
Ryane Clowe - Logan Couture - Martin Havlat
Ben Ferriero - Michal Handzus - Torrey Mitchell
Brad Winchester - Andrew Murray - Jamie McGinn

Douglas Murray - Dan Boyle
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Brent Burns
Colin White - Jason Demers

Antti Niemi will start in goal, with Thomas Greiss the backup.

For more on tonight's game, check out the preview here.
 
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Sergei Bobrovsky was the first goalie off the ice for the Flyers this morning in Ottawa, meaning he will be getting his first start of the season tonight against the Senators.

Ilya Bryzgalov started the first four games for the Flyers and went 3-0-1 including a shutout, posting a 1.99 goals-against average and .927 save percentage along the way.

Bobrovsky went 28-13-8 over 54 appearances as a rookie last season. He had a .915 save percentage and 2.59 GAA.