UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Score three consecutive goals in a game, and a player is credited with a natural hat trick.

Score them the way Ryan Malone did yesterday in the Penguins' 6-5 loss to the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum, and he simply is credited with a strange one.

Malone got a goal in the first minute of each period -- 45 seconds into the first, 49 into the second and 48 into the third -- as the Penguins consistently got the kind of start that is the stuff of dreams for most teams.

"We wanted to set the tone for every period by keeping it in their end and trying to get some momentum," Malone said.

Part of Malone's success seemingly had to do with a positioning adjustment, as he made a conscious effort to put a little distance between himself and the goal crease so that he had extra room to maneuver.

"I backed up a little," he said, "and ended up getting some bounces."

Malone scored his first goal from the inner edge of the left circle, his second on a wraparound at the right post and his third when he chopped his own rebound past Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro from the slot.

Meet and greet

Penguins general manager Ray Shero is with his colleagues from around the league in Naples, Fla., for meetings that will run through tomorrow.

The meetings, with the trade deadline a week from today, are pretty much a lock to include a lot of conversations about potential personnel moves.

"There have been plenty of conversations up to this point," Shero said. "You try to get a feel for what's out there, and what your needs may be. I'm sure it will be a continuation of where teams are now."

The GMs are scheduled to talk about the merits of a variety of other matters, from elimination of the instigator penalty to no-touch icing, and from awarding three points for a regulation victory to cracking down on interference with goaltenders.

Shero appears to have strong opinions on at least some of the topics that will come up, but declined to divulge them. He added that because he doesn't have a feel for how many GMs feel about them, "I really don't know what to expect on those issues."

Sticky fingers

DiPietro took the concept of holding the stick to a new level about six minutes into the game, when he emerged from a scrum around his net holding not only his stick, but that of Penguins center Dominic Moore.

DiPietro held onto Moore's stick for several seconds before tossing it toward the left-wing corner.

Referee Don Koharski watched the entire sequence from a few feet away, but apparently did not deem it significant.

"I don't know if [Koharski] quite knew what was happening," Moore said. "I think he just thought we were jostling."

Slap shots

Yesterday apparently was a good day to wear No. 12. Malone does, and so does Islanders left winger Chris Simon, who had two goals after going 26 games without one and having only five in the previous 59 games. ... The Penguins played three games -- in three distinct venues -- in about 68 hours. "It was a real short turnaround for us," right winger Mark Recchi said. "I think the guys did a good job." ... Defenseman Alain Nasreddine and forward Chris Thorburn were the Penguins' healthy scratches. ... The Islanders played without captain Alexei Yashin, who is recovering from a sprained right knee. ... Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron, acquired from Edmonton over the weekend, made his Islanders debut and earned two assists. ... The Penguins' minor-league team in Wilkes-Barre was shut out for the first time in 61 games Sunday when it dropped a 1-0 decision to the Islanders' minor-league affiliate, Bridgeport. ... The Penguins returned home after the game and, after a day off today, will practice there tomorrow before traveling to Florida for games against the Panthers Thursday and Tampa Bay Sunday.