Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press Penguins fans sit behind a sign lobbying for the Pittsburgh slot-machine license to be awarded to the Isle of Carpri this morning by the Pennsylvania Gaming Commision. Click photo for larger image. Related story Decision day for casino licenses a 'tense time'

This could be a landmark day for the Penguins with the awarding of the state's slots licenses and the implications for funding for a new Pittsburgh arena and shaping the future of the hockey team.

You couldn't tell around the Penguins' dressing room yesterday, though.

"So [today's] the big day?" winger Colby Armstrong asked.

"I know we're talking about it a bit just because of the recent action, but I'm not too sure what's going on behind the scenes. We've followed it a little bit. But what can we do? It's out of our hands."

Penguins coach Michel Therrien said he hasn't heard any ownership or slots talk around the Gatorade cooler.

"We've got some good people who are taking care of the business of the team," he said. "We're trying to take care of the hockey and perform as well as we're capable of performing. That's two totally different things."

No longer similar

At the end of last season, the Penguins and Blues finished at the bottom of the NHL standings, with the Penguins at 58 points, one ahead of last-place St. Louis.

Going into their only matchup of the season last night, there was no question which team had recovered better.

The Penguins, with 15 wins and 35 points, were flirting with the playoff cutoff. The Blues were tied for last in the league with 20 points with a league-low seven wins and have already gone through a coaching change with Andy Murray replacing Mike Kitchen.

"This is a team that has been struggling to get some wins, but at the same time they have been playing better since Andy Murray has been there," Therrien said.

In Murray's four games as coach, the Blues are 0-2-2 and earned a point in each of back-to-back games against Nashville over the weekend.

St. Louis remains among the worst in the league, though, in scoring and preventing goals. The Blues' two leading scorers, Keith Tkachuk (24 points) and Bill Guerin (21), had combined for fewer points than the Penguins' Sidney Crosby (52) going into the game.

Big move for Talbot

Planning a move, especially around the holidays, can be taxing, but forward Maxime Talbot was thrilled with the idea.

That's because it has been 56 days since he was promoted from Wilkes-Barre, and that is the cutoff point under the current collective bargaining agreement for management to tell a player to move out of a hotel and find a permanent residence. The implication is, the player is expected to stick around for a while.

That's the directive Talbot got.

"It's one of the best Christmas presents I could get," said Talbot, who has established himself as a solid fourth-liner and penalty-killer. He had seven points and was plus-2 in 25 games before last night.

All-Star update

Crosby continues to lead fan balloting for the Eastern Conference All-Star Game starting lineup. He has 626,175 votes. The Penguins' Marc-Andre Fleury is third among Eastern goaltenders with 293,680 votes.

The All-Star Game is Jan. 24 in Dallas.

A pick-me-up

The Penguins acquired physical defenseman Wade Brookbank from the Boston Bruins for future considerations and assigned him to Wilkes-Barre.

Brookbank, 6 feet 4 and 225 pounds, appeared in seven games with Boston this season, recording one goal and 15 penalty minutes. He also spent four games with minor-league Providence, going scoreless with 15 penalty minutes.

Brookbank, 29, appeared in an NHL career-high 32 games with the Vancouver Canucks last season, recording three points, including one goal, and 81 penalty minutes. He has appeared in a total of 68 career NHL games with the Bruins, Canucks and Nashville Predators, recording six points (four goals, two assists) and 229 penalty minutes.

Slap shots

The Penguins scratched center Dominic Moore for the first time this season, along with winger Ronald Petrovicky. ... The Blues recalled forward David Backes from their Peoria farm team before the game. ... High school players Phil Trombetta of Pine Richland, Graham Cohen of Bethel Park, Joe Appolonia of Indiana and Ryan Kumpfmiller of West Allegheny were honored by the Penguins as the Highmark Players of the Month.