Simon Despres News

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, left, talks with teammate Evgeni Malkin during practice at Scotiabank Place ahead of game five of their Stanley Cup Eastern Conference semi-final NHL hockey game against the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 21, 2013.

In the middle of January, it would have taken a swine flu pandemic to get Peter Merth into the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lineup.

Sidney Crosby heads toward the net to score a goal against the New York Islanders in a May 9 game at Consol Energy Center.

After a quick exit, Habs fans find themselves without a team to cheer for in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Penguins' top two lines are full of guys who can change the course of a game -- even a series -- and D Kris Letang has the ability to be a major force on the blue line.

The Pittsburgh Penguins found themselves in a difficult position following a Game 4 loss to the New York Islanders .

Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin , of Russia, celebrates with center Tyler Kennedy and defenseman Brooks Orpik, below, after Orpik scored the winning goal in overtime of Game 6 of the Penguins' first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey series against the New York Islanders, in Uniondale, N.Y., Saturday, May 11, 2013.

Brock Nelson of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers prepares for a face off during an American Hockey League game against the Manchester Monarchs at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn.

A switch in net helped give the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins an edge in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, and they'll try to end the series when they visit the New York Islanders for Saturday's Game 6 at Nassau Coliseum.

Tomas Vokoun made coach Dan Bylsma's goalie switch look like a series-changing move by posting 31 saves to spark the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-0 win against the New York Islanders in Game 5 of Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tomas Vokoun and New York Islanders center Josh Bailey battle for the puck behind the net.

After struggling in last year's first round matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers , a series in which he surrendered 26 goals in 6 games, Marc-Andre Fleury entered this year's playoffs seemingly at the top of his game and looking to improve on his subpar playoff record of 12-14 since 2009.

And here are a couple vids from this morning's skate, where you can hear from both of the prominent players who might be returning to the lineup tonight.

The motto for the New York Islanders in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs is "Believe." Bob Errey joined the Fan Morning Show on Monday and said that the Isles are beginning to do just that.

In a regular 82-game season, the Pittsburgh Penguins normally carry 7 D on their active NHL roster.

It has been a long season for Penguins center Evgeni Malkin , but he seemed thrilled Tuesday to arrive at the eve of the NHL playoffs.

The Carolina Hurricanes fought hard all game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but their effort fell by the wayside losing 8-3, in the team's final game of the season on Saturday.

Nobody's guaranteeing anything yet, but it sounds as though the Penguins will get back defenseman Paul Martin for their regular-season finale against Carolina on Saturday.