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Q: What's with Michel Ouellet? Why does Michel Therrien continue to place him on the top two lines and put him out on the power play? Why doesn't he give other guys like Erik Christensen a shot on the top couple of lines?

Seth Wano, Pittsburgh

MOLINARI: Ouellet can only hope that the agent who will negotiate his next contract has as much faith in him as Therrien does. Or that his blood relatives believe in him the way Therrien does, for that matter.

The strong ties between Ouellet and his coach go back to their days together with the Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre, and no adversity Ouellet has experienced -- including the goal-scoring drought that reached 12 games before Ouellet got one during the Penguins' 5-2 victory against the New York Islanders Tursday -- has been enough to shake them. And there's nothing to suggest that's going to change, especially since Ouellet has started to pick up some points in recent games.

Ouellet has a history as a goal-scorer -- one who is particularly dangerous around the net -- and that is why Therrien continues to deploy him as a top-six forward and on the No. 2 power play. Going into last night's game at Boston, however, Ouellet's offensive credentials really haven't been established at this level. He had 24 goals in 86 NHL games, including eight in 36 games this season.

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Q: Even though construction of the Pens' new arena isn't started, do they have a name for it? Do they do naming rights after the arena is built and how do they go about picking who gets the naming rights? Any chance they could keep "Igloo" as part of the name?

Tom Torrell, Bowie, Md.

MOLINARI: Mellon Financial, whose name is on the Penguins' current home, has an option on the naming rights for a new building if one is constructed. Should Mellon decline to exercise that option, the naming rights presumably would be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

"Igloo," of course, is not actually part of the current arena's name; it is a nickname stemming from the shape of the building. Of course, if a particular company that makes coolers and similar products would happen to land the naming rights, the new place could officially be known as Igloo Place or Igloo Arena or Igloo Gardens or whatever, regardless of what the outside of the facility would look like.

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Q: Ever see a more cowardly act from a 'pretty good' player than what (New York Islanders winger Jason) Blake did to Sidney Crosby at the end of (Tuesday's) game?

John Butler, Coudersport, Pa.

MOLINARI: It's not exactly unprecedented for a player with serious talent to stray far outside the confines of the rulebook -- witness the head-high elbows Philadelphia center Peter Forsberg was throwing around during the Penguins' 5-3 victory against the Flyers last Saturday -- but it really was out of character for Blake to do something as irresponsible and potentially dangerous as spearing Crosby.

Although Blake is feisty and extremely competitive -- if he wasn't, he'd probably be putting his University of North Dakota education to use in a 9-to-5 job instead of playing in the NHL -- he doesn't have a reputation for swordplay, and one can only hope that jabbing his stick into Crosby's mid-section was a momentary lapse of judgment rather than a calculated decision.

In any case, it could make for some interesting conversations when they cross paths in the Eastern Conference dressing room during next week's all-star activities.

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Q: How realistic is it that the Penguins are lacing up the skates in another city next season? Kansas City floundered last time it tried to have a franchise, no reason to believe this one will be any different.

Terry Wade, Boston

MOLINARI: As the parties prepared for another negotiating session yesterday, there seemed to be genuine cause for Penguins fans -- and Western Pennsylvanians -- to be cautiously optimistic about the chances of the franchise remaining in Pittsburgh, although it was nowhere near certain that things would play out that way. If this were a done deal, it would have been formalized, finalized and announced long ago, because there is nothing for anyone to gain by having this situation drag on.

Whether Kansas City would/will be a good market for the NHL isn't known at this point, but there should not be any particular emphasis put on that city's experience with the Scouts three decades ago. The city is different, the times are different, the situation is different.

Besides, what matters most is that Kansas City can offer the Penguins a state-of-the-art arena with plenty of guaranteed revenue streams. In light of that, it really doesn't matter whether sports fans in that region would embrace the NHL. The suspicion, though, is that, with the Penguins' nucleus of ridiculously talented and entertaining young players, this franchise could be transplanted to Bolivia and still attract standing-room crowds most of the time.

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Q: Is it difficult for you to watch the Penguins develop? I watch and follow them as much as I can, but I get frustrated to continue to hear nearly everyone talk about the "upside potential" and "huge amount of talent" this team possesses. We all see the dynamic flashes from certain players but rarely do we see long periods of good team play. I understand the young team concept and that they might struggle from time to time, but it seems that every night they don't show up for several minutes, or even a period, and it costs them points. In your opinion, having watched different teams over the years, how soon can we expect consistent, quality team performances?

Bob, Boardman, Ohio

MOLINARI: Reporters do not, in general, have the same emotional investment in the success of the team they cover as fans of that club do. Fans want excitement and entertainment and, most of all, a victory by their team of choice; reporters want early starting times, few stoppages and a compelling storyline.

Just about every team in the league has had to deal with some inconsistency this season, but the Penguins have taken a particularly up-and-down route to what is not far removed from a .500 record. They have had winning streaks of five, four and three games, but also have endured stretches of 0-4-1, 0-3-2, 0-3-1.

Like it or not, the team's relative youth and inexperience -- particularly with so many younger players in key roles -- is a pretty good explanation for the wild fluctuations in Penguins' performance, both during games and over longer periods. It's impossible to predict when the Penguins will grow out of their shortcomings that are rooted in a lack of experience, but do not construe their highs and lows as evidence that the potential of this group is overrated.

While it's mostly a reflection of all the losing they've done in recent years, the Penguins have assembled a collection of young talent any franchise would be thrilled to own. That doesn't guarantee this group will develop into a championship-caliber club over the next few years, but betting against it probably is no way to get rich.

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Q: Now that the Penguins are off the market, what are Mario Lemieux's plans for the Baby Pens?

Ronald Bundy, Bushkill, Pa.

MOLINARI: The Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre has been one of the few facets of the operation to consistently operate in the black in recent years. That's a tribute to the way the on-ice product there has been assembled and run, the way the team and the sport have been marketed in a non-traditional market and, most important, the way the fans of northeastern Pennsylvania have supported the team.

When the Penguins go back up for sale -- and it seems reasonable to assume, at least at this point, that that will happen reasonably quickly after the issue of where the NHL franchise will be based has been settled -- the Baby Penguins again will be part of the package. And while a quality minor-league affiliate won't draw a buyer who wouldn't otherwise be interested in the Penguins, it certainly won't hurt the prospects for working out a sale, either.

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Q: What's up with the red spot on the back of Marc-Andre Fleury's sweater?

Martin, Pittsburgh

MOLINARI: Fleury and his teammates were to break out a fresh set of game sweaters this week, so it might be a while before the red spots on his sweater are visible again. Then again, maybe not.

Dana Heinze, the Penguins' equipment manager, says the red splotches on Fleury's sweater come from him rubbing against the cross bar and goalposts during games, particularly when the sweater is wet from perspiration. Because the goal frames are painted fairly often -- the idea is to have them look new at all times -- they aren't necessarily 100 percent dry when Fleury (and every other goalie) comes into contact with them. Occasionally, some of the paint ends up on his sweater.

So far, there's no indication the league plans to have arena maintenance crews hang "Wet Paint" signs after they've been touched up, but perhaps the Board of Governors can take up that issue when it convenes in Dallas next week.