Q: As the Pens continue to lose man-games because of injuries, do you see the team making any deals or relying on its system to keep healthy players on the ice?

Kenn, Elon, N.C.

MOLINARI: The thinking here is that general manager Ray Shero will continue to try to get by with the talent already on hand, although the Penguins probably are starting to run low on players who could reasonably be asked to step in at this level and perform effectively at this point in their careers.

That approach is viable work for the Penguins because most of the players they've lost are out for relatively short periods of time; weeks, as opposed to months. The 12-3 start the Penguins got is a factor in how they have proceeded, too, because it gave them a cushion that reduced the need to sacrifice assets like draft choices for a quick infusion of talent.

And it especially helps when the players who have been summoned from their farm team in Wilkes-Barre perform the way they did during the Penguins' 5-2 victory against Anaheim Tuesday. Defensemen Ben Lovejoy and Deryk Engelland both turned in 18 1/2 strong minutes against the Ducks, and even chipped in with one assist each.

None of that means that Shero and his scouts aren't always looking for guys who could have a positive impact while fitting into the team's salary structure. Just that there is no urgency for Shero to strike a deal just to plug some of the short-term holes injuries have been created in their lineup.

Q: What is the status of Mike Zigomanis? Is he still injured, still in the Pens' system?

Dan Billman, Mars

MOLINARI: Zigomanis is healthy, but the Penguins didn't re-sign him when he became a free agent this summer. (Perhaps the fact that he's healthy should have been the first clue that he's not in the organization anymore.)

He signed with Djurgardens in the Elitserien, Sweden's top league, last week after a productive tryout with Toronto's American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. Zigomanis played seven games with the Marlies and, while he didn't manage to score a goal, did set up 13 of them and apparently made a good impression on someone from Sweden.

Zigomanis, who was acquired from Phoenix for a token sum (believed to be $1) early last season, immediately gave the Penguins a strong faceoff presence.

He went 158-93 on draws, a success rate of 63 percent, during the 22 games in which he appeared before being hurt. Those 251 faceoffs were the fifth-most taken by any Penguin, even though Zigomanis dressed for barely more than a quarter of their games.

Because of his excellent work on faceoffs, it was a bit of a surprise that Zigomanis was unable to land a spot in the NHL this season.

Penguins Plus, a blog by Dave Molinari and Shelly Anderson, is featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.