PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins experimented with their lines at the morning skate, but more of the same should be expected Saturday when they play the Toronto Maple Leafs at Consol Energy Center.

Pittsburgh loaded its first line with Evgeni Malkin at left wing joining center Sidney Crosby and right wing Phil Kessel, who will face the Maple Leafs for the first time since an offseason trade.

"I've played against a bunch of those guys before," Kessel said. "I have good friends over there and it's going to be strange, but I'm looking forward to it."

PITTSBURGH -- Following a sluggish start to the season, the Pittsburgh Penguins will rework their power play entering their game Thursday against the Ottawa Senators.

Through its first three games, all regulation losses, Pittsburgh split forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin across two power-play units while failing to score on nine chances. It seems that tactic will be abandoned against Ottawa at Consol Energy Center, where Crosby and Malkin will reunite on the Penguins' top unit alongside defenseman Kris Letang and forwards Phil Kessel and Patric Hornqvist.

"We've had some chances," Crosby said. "The main thing is you're getting momentum and you're executing. The goals will come when you do that. We've done it in spurts, but I think there's a level of urgency that we can get to on our power play and 5-on-5."

PITTSBURGH -- When goalie Carey Price returns to the Montreal Canadiens' crease Tuesday, he'll face what, on paper, seems like a sizable test.

In reality, the Pittsburgh Penguins are 0-2-0 with one goal scored entering their game against Montreal at Consol Energy Center. The matchup seems to favor Price, who has stopped 55 of 58 shots in his first two starts, while backup Mike Condon allowed one goal on 21 shots in a 3-1 win against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

The Canadiens, however, don't believe the Penguins' start is indicative of their skill level.

"There's going to be a game in the near future where they're going to put up a lot of goals and we just have to make sure it's not against us," Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty said. "They have probably the best firepower up front in the League and it's going be a big challenge for us tonight."

PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby is familiar with Evgeni Malkin's position.

A year ago, Crosby was criticized throughout the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs for his lack of production, partially resulting in the Pittsburgh Penguins' Eastern Conference Second Round series loss after leading the New York Rangers 3-1. After being held scoreless for a third consecutive game in Pittsburgh's 2-1 Game 7 loss, it was announced Crosby had been playing with a wrist injury.

Jump ahead to the Penguins' best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round series against the Rangers, which it trails 3-1, and it is Malkin who has struggled to score while battling an undisclosed injury.

Game 5 will be played at Madison Square Garden on Friday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports 2, ROOT, MSG).

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy thinks there are three things the his team must do to avoid another slow start against the New York Rangers on Wednesday.

"We need to be mentally focused, we need to come out and win battles, and we need to play smart," Lovejoy said. "Last game we didn't do those things. We were turning pucks over, which led to them being able to utilize their quick-strike offense. We weren't winning battles.

"We came out maybe with our brains turned off."

Pittsburgh, which trails the best-of-7 series 2-1, will attempt to move that switch to the on position in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Consol Energy Center (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360, TVA Sports 2, MSG, ROOT).

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins' lineup will most likely remain the same when they face the New York Rangers in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference First Round Series.

Defensemen Derrick Pouliot and Christian Ehrhoff, who are each recovering from upper-body injuries, will most likely miss a third game to start the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Pouliot was the first skater on the ice for Pittsburgh's Monday morning skate, but practiced alongside defenseman Scott Harrington on a fourth pairing.

Ehrhoff, who had practiced recently, did not participate in the skate and might not return in the near future.

PITTSBURGH – The New York Rangers will attempt to raise their level of desperation in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center on Monday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports, MSG, ROOT).

The best-of-7 series is tied 1-1 after the Rangers lost 4-3 in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. While Pittsburgh's competiveness seemed to elevate from its 2-1 loss in Game 1 on Thursday, the Rangers felt they did not match the Penguins’ elevated game and feel they need to in order to reclaim home-ice advantage.

"I think [the Penguins] probably had it consistently throughout the game," Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "They were a lot quicker on their sticks, moving their feet on loose pucks, it translated to them having the puck more. As we said after the game, you could see we spent some more time in our zone than we'd like to. We didn't get to the offensive zone as much as we'd like to. So, it's something we have to get back to.

"Moving our feet a little bit and getting a hold of a puck first, before we start anticipating our next play."

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins want to avoid overconfidence after evening their Eastern Conference First Round series Saturday against the New York Rangers.

The Penguins earned a 4-3 victory in Game 2 tie the best-of-7 series at 1-1 before coming back to Pittsburgh for the next two games. Still, the Penguins think they were far from perfect through the first two games and are looking to improve in one specific area starting Monday in Game 3 at Consol Energy Center (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA, MSG, ROOT).

“We need to stay out of the penalty box,” forward Chris Kunitz said. “That’s the huge thing that really disrupts our flow of the game. We like our game 5-on-5 and we want to keep the puck away from their speedy wingers and their D making plays. But I think if you can play that model where the next guy over the boards goes and do whatever you can then get off the ice, we should have a recipe for success.

“I think a 1-1 series, it’s a long way to go to win three more games. They’re the best team in the League for a reason. They play hard. They adjust well. They play well on the road. We can’t be thinking we’re ahead in this series at all.”

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Derrick Pouliot will not be available against the New York Rangers in the series opener Thursday.

Ehrhoff and Pouliot, who each practiced Wednesday, are recovering from upper-body injuries that will force them to miss Game 1 of Pittsburgh's Eastern Conference First Round series against New York at Madison Square Garden (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports, ROOT, MSG). Ehrhoff has practiced with full contact the past two days and seems closer to returning than Pouliot.

"It was nice to get out on the ice again with the guys the last few days," Ehrhoff said. "Unfortunately, I'm not ready to go for Game 1, but it's a day-to-day thing and hopefully it keeps progressing in the right direction. … It's been tough sitting on the sidelines watching the guys battling it out the past few weeks, but I'm glad we're here now.

"Like I said, hopefully I keep progressing in the right direction and help the team soon."

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins have attempted to fill their injury-plagued roster with a few American Hockey League call-ups.

Pittsburgh recalled forward Scott Wilson from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Tuesday, a day after calling up defensemen Scott Harrington and Brian Dumoulin, prior to Game 1 of its Eastern Conference First Round series against the New York Rangers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, NBCSN, TVA Sports, ROOT, MSG).

Wilson's addition is expected to add depth to an offense that averaged 1.83 goals per game in its final six regular-season games despite holding early leads and averaging 35.3 shots per game.