Chris McGrath, Getty Images Evgeni Malkin skates with the puck last night against the New Jersey. Click photo for larger image. Scouting Report Matchup: Penguins vs. Atlanta Thrashers, 7:38 p.m. today, Mellon Arena. TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WXDX-FM (105.9). Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury for Penguins. Kari Lehtonen for Thrashers. Penguins: Are 1-1-1 at home on second night of back-to-back games. ... Before game last night in New Jersey, Sidney Crosby had 10-game points streak (7 goals, 16 assists) and seven-game assist streak. ... Jordan Staal led NHL with five short-handed goals. Thrashers: Are 0-1-1 vs. Penguins, both at home this month. ... Had won three games in row before game vs. Tampa Bay last night. ... Was 14-0-2 when leading after two periods. Hidden stat: Atlanta allowed an average of 36.1 shots in the eight games before last night.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Penguins did not have a normal itinerary for their trip to play the New Jersey Devils last night.

Coming off of a four-day Christmas break, the team took an early flight to New Jersey yesterday, cutting it close enough that a slight fog delay pushed their morning skate at Continental Airlines Arena back by 15 minutes so the equipment could arrive.

At the morning skate, coach Michel Therrien broke from the routine and included drills usually reserved for non-game-day practices, including work on defensive-zone coverage and the power play, although the skate wasn't appreciably longer than normal.

"We added some stuff because we wanted to get their attention," Therrien said. "We didn't want to just go through the motion of a normal morning skate."

He said the players returned from their time off "pretty sharp."

That didn't surprise center Sidney Crosby.

"When you get a break, you have to enjoy Christmas, but we take our job seriously," he said. "You just have to have a transition where you're focusing on hockey instead of relaxing. I think it's easy to do. We had enough time to get away."

The four days off were twice as long as the NHL mandates over Christmas, and longer than most teams got.

Rather than worry about rust, winger Mark Recchi looked at the break as a bonus considering the tight Eastern Conference standings.

"It's great," Recchi said. "I think it will help us in the long run, especially when you're going to [essentially] be playing playoff hockey the rest of the year. You're going to need as much rest as possible."

Good start for Letang

Defenseman Kris Letang had two assists to lead Canada to a 2-0 win against host Sweden to open the World Junior Championship tournament. Letang, the Penguins' 2005 third-round pick, assisted on both of Canada's power-play goals in the second period. Letang, the team captain, is one of the returning players from Team Canada's gold-medal squad at the World Junior Championships in Vancouver, B.C. last year.

No net gains

Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur is a sure Hall of Famer with a long list of credentials that includes 10 seasons of 30-plus wins, being second on the NHL all-time wins list (465 before last night) and tied for third all-time with 84 shutouts.

So, it would seem, his opinions on a renewed push by NHL executive Colin Campbell to increase the size of the nets are worth hearing.

If the nets are made bigger, Brodeur said. "Everything that you learn through your career goes out the window almost. You've got a lot of spots on ice that you refer to for your angles, so, if they make the net bigger, I'm not sure how that's going to work."

Brodeur said bigger nets could weed out smaller goaltenders and could make it tougher for young players to become proficient at the position.

"Whatever the NHL does, it goes down to the kids, and, for them, there's a lot of net to be shot at now," Brodeur said.

The intent would be to add offense. That might work, Brodeur said.

"If it's 7-6, yeah," he said. "But if it's 10-1, I don't know if people will enjoy that."

In summation, that would be one voice against.

Lineup adjustments

Penguins scratches were forwards Erik Christensen and Ronald Petrovicky.

For the Devils, leading scorer Patrik Elias played despite a sore left foot. He took a shot Friday against Washington and missed New Jersey's loss Saturday against Atlanta.

Devils defenseman and alternate captain Colin White wasn't as lucky. A groin injury forced him out of the lineup. The Devils recalled Alex Brooks before the game.

All-Star voting update

Crosby continues to lead Eastern Conference fan voting for the All-Star Game starting lineup next month. His 747,332 votes are more than 200,000 ahead of the second-place forward, Washington's Alex Ovechkin. Penguins rookie Evgeni Malkin is fifth among forwards with 373,609 votes, and the Penguins' Marc-Andre Fleury is third among goaltenders with 324,179 votes.