The status of Penguins forward Max Talbot for Game 5 today against the New York Rangers remains unclear.

Talbot missed Game 4 Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York because of what is believed to be a broken left foot he got in Game 3

He did not join the team for practice at Southpointe but skated earlier.

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Scouting report

Matchup: New York Rangers vs. Penguins, 2:08 p.m., Mellon Arena.

TV, radio: WPXI, WXDX-FM (105.9).

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury for Penguins. Henrik Lundqvist for Rangers.

Penguins: Can earn berth in Eastern Conference final with win. ... C Sidney Crosby led playoffs with 10 assists and was second with 7 power-play assists before last night. ... Had equaled a team record with a power-play goal in seven consecutive games before going 0 for 4 in Game 4.

Rangers: RW Jaromir Jagr led the playoffs before last night with 15 points. ... Are one of three teams alive that has a short-handed goal on the road. ... Lundqvist is not in top five in major statistical categories for goalies.

Hidden stat: Penguins C Evgeni Malkin (2) is the only player on either team with more than one winning goal.

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"He practiced on his own and he felt pretty good, so we'll see for [today]," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said.

Talbot was replaced in the lineup Thursday by winger Gary Roberts.

Goalies may have to adjust again

Like all NHL goaltenders, the Penguins' Marc-Andre Fleury made the adjustment to slightly smaller pads when the league came out of its 2004-05 lockout.

This season, he also switched from his trademark yellow pads to white gear.

So far, so good. Fleury through yesterday had the best record (7-1) in the playoffs, the best save percentage (.940), was tied for the most shutouts (2) and was second in goals-against average (1.76).

It's possible Fleury and his goaltending brethren will have to adjust again.

The league and its players union have assembled a group that will meet next month to examine the size and configuration of goaltending equipment and might recommend that the NHL competition committee consider another cutback in size allowance.

"Always the goalies, eh?" Fleury said, with a smile.

"I guess they think some guys are too big. We do all the practice to stop goals, and they want us to give up more goals."

Fleury pointed out that in years gone by when goaltenders wore much smaller padding, skaters used different equipment, too.

"Some guys took good shots, but they had wood sticks and straight blades," Fleury said.

"Guys shoot pretty hard now. They've got those [composite] sticks. You don't want to compromise safety, your knees, all your protection."

Fleury has been breaking in a new set of white pads because the ones he has been using are getting a little soft, but because of superstition he is reluctant to switch to the new ones during the playoffs.

It's all about the Staals

While Penguins second-year forward Jordan Staal and Rangers rookie defenseman Marc Staal duke it out in the second round of the NHL playoffs, eldest brother Eric Staal is on loan from Carolina to host Team Canada for the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships.

"It's pretty neat," Eric Staal told the Chronicle Herald of Nova Scotia about two of his three younger brothers facing each other in the playoffs.

"Both are playing really hard. They're putting on a good show."

Jordan Staal has two goals, including a winner, and an assist with a plus-minus rating of plus-2 in the postseason. Marc Staal has a winning goal and two assists and is plus-5.

Eric Staal had an assist in Canada's opening 5-1 win against Slovenia in Halifax. Team Canada plays Latvia today before meeting the United States Tuesday.

Slap shots

Rangers winger and agitator Sean Avery, who sustained a lacerated spleen in Game 3, was moved out of intensive care but remained in St. Vincent's Medical Center in New York. ... Although there were concerns about ice conditions at Mellon Arena and in New York for the series, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said there were no problems at Madison Square Garden for Games 3 and 4. "It was pretty good," he said. "In the second game, it was probably a little better than it was [in the first] just because they had more time to work on it." ... Penguins leading scorer Evgeni Malkin appears to be the only one on the team not attempting a playoff beard. "No, I'm shaving," he said recently.