The Penguins are still hopeful that the NHL will take some action, such as a fine or suspension, against Jason Blake of the New York Islanders for jabbing Sidney Crosby late in the game Tuesday night.

"It was a cheap play," Penguins general manager Ray Shero said yesterday at Southpointe, where the team practiced before flying to Boston, where it plays the Bruins tonight.

"The worst part, to me, is that Crosby ends up with an unsportsmanlike- conduct [penalty]," Shero said.

With 27 seconds left in the third period of the Penguins' 5-2 victory, Crosby was stationed along the left boards in his offensive zone when Blake stuck his stick blade in Crosby's abdomen. Crosby crumbled to the ice for a few seconds, then confronted Blake, grabbing him by the neck of his sweater and giving him a little shove.

Penguins coach Michel Therrien blasted the play after the game, but declined to revisit the issue yesterday.

"It doesn't matter if it was a one-handed spear or a two-handed spear," Shero said. "I guess they didn't see it. If they saw it and didn't call it, that's even worse."

The NHL routinely goes over each game tape and could decide on disciplinary action against Blake, even though there was no penalty called against him.

Crosby practiced yesterday and said afterward he does not have a bad bruise.

"It knocked the wind out of me more than anything," he said.

Like Therrien a night earlier, Shero said that is two games in a row for a similar incident, and the NHL needs to step in before someone gets hurt.

"In the Philadelphia game Saturday, [Crosby] ends up in the penalty box [on a double minor for roughing with two seconds left] after a high stick to the head by [Alexei] Zhitnik," Shero said. "At some point, enough's enough."

Gonchar ailing
Defenseman Sergei Gonchar did not practice because of a stomach ailment, but he traveled with the team to Boston. Shero was hopeful Gonchar will be able to play tonight.

If not, the Penguins will have to summon someone from Wilkes-Barre today because they have just five other healthy defensemen.

Gonchar leads the team with an average of 26 minutes, 40 seconds of ice time per game.

Homeward bound
For defensemen Ryan Whitney and Noah Welch, the game in Boston means a trip home, and it comes with the bonus of experiencing Patriotmania.

"They're my team," Whitney said of New England, which has advanced to the AFC championship. "It will be all over the news. I'm sure even at the Bruins' game, you'll see some Patriots jerseys."

Whitney, who played at Boston University, has fond memories of Super Bowl parties and went to Patriots parades two of the three years they won the Super Bowl.

Welch, who played at Harvard, also has followed New England.

"I'm a huge Patriots fan," he said. "I never got to go to a parade, but I went to a couple of big games."

Welch was recalled from Wilkes-Barre last week, and this will be his first NHL game at the TD Banknorth Garden. A lot of his family and friends plan on attending.

"People have been good as far as getting their own tickets, but I probably have, I'd say, 20 or 30 people going that I know of," he said. "It should be fun going back."

Slap shots
It took a lot of digging, but the Elias Sports Bureau found that Richard Park's goal while the Islanders were down two men in the Penguin's 5-2 victory was the first 3-on-5 goal given up by the Penguins since their inception in 1967-68. Elias said, on average, there are one or two such goals in an NHL season. ... Crosby is the subject of a Sports Illustrated article and is compared favorably with Wayne Gretzky in the magazine's upcoming issue.