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Q: What do you believe the Penguins should concentrate on during the gap between series and who should benefit the most from this break?

Kevin Novak, Atlanta

MOLINARI: The Penguins appeared to come out of the Ottawa series relatively healthy, aside from Gary Roberts' standard-issue groin pull, so they shouldn't have to spend a lot of time trying to get guys healthy for the second round.

Their primary emphasis should be on getting players rested for the next series, but with so much time before Round 2 begins, they should have the luxury of being able to do that and still have an opportunity to fine-tune various aspects of their game.

The thinking here is, and has been, that the coaching staff should split the power play into two roughly equal units rather than concentrating all of the Penguins' high-end talent into one group. This layoff presents a chance to do that and give all concerned time to get used to working with the other members of their unit, but there is absolutely no reason to think such a change is coming.

Also, it would be good for the Penguins if the coaching staff had some way to prepare the players for the severe challenges and tests they can expect to face from this point on in the playoffs. The Senators -- partly because of injuries, partly because key players like Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza were virtual no-shows in the series -- never really posed a major threat to the Penguins during the first round. That likely won't be the case during Round 2, or in any others for which the Penguins might qualify this spring.

Q: Is Ryan Malone going to price himself out of the Penguins' price range if he keeps playing well in the playoffs?

James Zerfoss, Taipei, Taiwan

MOLINARI: Malone also is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and while a strong showing in the playoffs won't necessarily put him out of the Penguins' price range, it certainly will do nice things for his back account when his next contract is finalized.

He added the one element that always had been missing from his game -- consistency -- this season, and offers a blend of skating, skill and size that few players in the league can. When his talents, hockey sense and determination lead to goals like the game-winner he scored with 62 seconds left in regulation during Game 2, it doesn't go unnoticed, and clubs that had been inclined to pursue him in free agency have even more reason to do so.

Q: Do you think the league will ever think of adopting a new penalty rule for the post season? Although I loved watching Gary Roberts take care of three Senators at the same time at the end of (Game 1), players might think twice if their penalty time is carried over to the next playoff game.

Eric Fogle, Moon

MOLINARI: That's an interesting concept and the thinking behind it certainly is understandable, but it probably wouldn't be particularly fair, at least not if applied in an across-the-board manner.

As it is, if a player's actions toward the end of a game are bad enough, the repercussions can carry over into the following game in the form of a suspension and that should be enough of a deterrent to keep most guys from doing anything particularly heinous.

But under your proposal, if a player would get, say, a tripping minor with 72 seconds left in regulation, his team would be obliged to start the next game shorthanded, and that really doesn't seem fair. Playoff games are separate entities, and the league should not do anything that leads to having the events of one bleed into another.