Ryan Remiorz, Associated Press Penguins prospect Evgeni Malkin, right, is checked into the boards by Team Canada's Dustin Boyd in action at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Vancouver, Canada, earlier this month. Click photo for larger image.

NASHVILLE -- Considering how the first three-plus months of their season have gone, the Penguins have plenty of things to worry about.

The random drug testing the NHL began yesterday doesn't seem to be one of them.

No Penguins were tested yesterday, and no one in a cross-section of players seemed concerned about the introduction of testing for prohibited substances such as anabolic steroids and growth hormones.

"I've just been here 30 games, obviously, but, from what I've seen, I don't think many players are using steroids in hockey," defenseman Ryan Whitney said. "I'll bet it's the least in any of the major sports, beside basketball. Football and baseball, I'm sure, have way more than hockey."

Whitney said he underwent testing while competing in a world junior tournament and that, although testing was done while he was at Boston University, he never was selected to submit a urine sample.

Forward Ryan Malone, who was tested earlier this season when he was a candidate for the U.S. Olympic team, echoed Whitney's belief that testing won't turn up many violators on any team.

"If you look around the locker room, I don't think you see many guys on steroids, if you know hockey players," he said, failing to suppress a chuckle.

"Maybe 1 percent of the guys might take [performance-enhancing drugs], and those would just be the guys who might have to do some fighting or might need to prolong their careers, for whatever reason."

Malkin fired up

Penguins prospect Evgeni Malkin, who captained Russia to a silver medal at the recent world junior championships, told a Russian newspaper that he intends to avenge his team's title-game loss to Canada during the Olympics next month.

He told Sport Express that the defeat won't have any psychological impact on him during the Russian Super League season or in the Games. Smiling, he added that, "hopefully, my appearance on the team will not worsen team's performance." He also said that, "We are going to pay back the Canadians in Turin. I will live with these thoughts for this month."

Because he missed several weeks of games, Malkin has slipped to third in the Super League scoring race, with 16 goals and 21 assists in 34 games.

Beech makes good impression

Center Kris Beech, whom the Penguins traded to Nashville for a conditional draft choice in September, has spent most of this season with the Predators' minor-league team in Milwaukee.

Beech did, however, have one goal and two assists in five games with the Predators in the middle of last month. He also was a healthy scratch for one game.

Predators coach Barry Trotz said yesterday that he believes Beech, who was used as a top-six forward during his time in Nashville, has a chance to be a contributor at the NHL level.

"We put him in areas where his assets would shine, and he did a really good job," Trotz said.

He added that, "When we got Kris Beech, I wasn't a big Kris Beech fan" and that, "I saw a lot of holes in his game." Trotz, though, said Beech has made a mental adjustment that has enhanced his chances of becoming a regular in the NHL.

"Sometimes, we try to get these young players up too quickly, and they lose the sense of what the game is all about and the urgency you need to play this game, and I think he lost that somewhere," Trotz said.

"By the position he's in right now, I think he's got a lot of urgency, and I think that's helping his development. He's a mature young man who's on the right path to being a pretty good player."

Gonchar's start puzzles Trotz, too

Trotz coached Washington's minor-league team in Portland, Me., when Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar played there, and acknowledged that he is on the long list of people surprised by how poorly Gonchar has performed this season.

"I thought the rules [changes] would be ... perfect for him," Trotz said. "Why he's gotten off to a little bit of a tougher start than I probably expected, I don't know. I'm not close enough to him to know that."

No one else has been able to fully explain Gonchar's struggles, either, but Trotz volunteered that he is confident Gonchar will return to the form that prompted the Penguins to give him a five-year contract worth $25 million last August.

"One thing [Gonchar] is, is a pretty smart player," Trotz said. "And smart players will figure out how to be successful, what's going to help them, what's going to enhance their games. I think he'll be fine."