NEW YORK -- Max Talbot was credited with blocking two shots in the Penguins' 5-3 victory in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series against the New York Rangers Tuesday night.

One of them apparently broke his right foot.

Didn't really matter, though. It wasn't enough to knock Talbot out of the game and might not prevent him from dressing for Game 4 at 7:08 tonight at Madison Square Garden, when the Penguins try to turn their 3-0 advantage into a berth in the Eastern Conference final.

If Talbot is able to play tonight, which might hinge on precisely which bone is fractured, he's sure to be throwing himself in front of pucks again.

It's in his job description. And, more important, his DNA.

"Even if I knew I was in bad shape in the third period [of Game 3], when I was still playing, I would have blocked some other shots," said Talbot, who was hurt blocking a Paul Mara shot in the second period. "That's your job. That's what you're paid for."

The Penguins declined to discuss the precise nature of Talbot's injury -- general manager Ray Shero, asked to divulge as much information as he could about it, smiled and said, "Foot" -- and instructed Talbot to do likewise.

Coach Michel Therrien said Talbot has "a good chance" to play in Game 4, and that "the same thing" applies to defenseman Rob Scuderi, whose left foot was injured when he -- you guessed it -- blocked a shot Tuesday.

Indications are that Scuderi's foot is bruised, not fractured. He, like Talbot, showed up at the Garden for practice yesterday wearing a walking boot and did not go on the ice.

Decisions on whether to use either tonight probably won't be made until the game-day skate.

If the Penguins decide to proceed cautiously and sit both -- after all, a victory in Game 4 could give them another week or so to heal before the Eastern final begins -- there are capable replacements available.

Left winger Gary Roberts could step into Talbot's spot, perhaps bumping Adam Hall from the wing into the middle, and Darryl Sydor could fill in for Scuderi.

"I had a good skate [yesterday] and feel good," Roberts said. "If called upon, I'll be ready."

Scuderi is as reliable in his own end as any Penguins defenseman, and Talbot provides a microburst of energy every time he goes over the boards.

If they cannot play, their absences might be most conspicuous when the Penguins are killing penalties, because both get extensive work then. Both are major contributors to the Penguins' league-best success rate of 92.6 percent.

They have been down a man -- or more -- 27 times in the first seven games of this postseason; their opponents scored on just two of those.

"Guys have been amazing, blocking shots, diving in front of pucks and taking rebounds away," goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said.

Mind you, most of Fleury's teammates cite him as a major factor in the team's short-handed success.

"The goalie's stopping the puck," forward Pascal Dupuis said. "He has to be your best penalty-killer. When he's stopping the puck, he makes it easier on everybody."

New York's power play has converted one of 14 opportunities against the Penguins, and even that goal -- which came on the Rangers' first chance with the extra man in Game 1 -- was no classic. Martin Straka got it when his centering pass from behind the goal line caromed off Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar and behind Fleury.

Clogging shooting and passing lanes with bodies and sticks is critical to neutralizing the Rangers' power play -- "All the guys who go out there are willing to sacrifice their bodies to block shots and make sure the puck gets out [of the defensive zone]," left winger Ryan Malone said -- but that isn't all the Penguins are doing well when they're down a man.

They regularly stymie power plays by pressuring them at the far end of the ice, forcing the opposing shooters to bad angles, moving aggressively to cause puckhandling errors when the opponents try to set up in their zone and consistently clearing rebounds and opposing players from in front of Fleury.

It's dirty, difficult and -- as Talbot and Scuderi were reminded Tuesday -- dangerous work.

And nobody is doing it better than the Penguins in these playoffs.