PG writer Dave Molinari breaks down the team that will open the season Friday.

A lot of things had to go right for the Penguins to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs last season. A lot did. And then some.

Equaling their success -- let alone matching their total of 105 points, second most in franchise history -- might be too much to expect in 2007-08, however, even if they actually are a better team. Which they have the personnel and potential to be.

Trouble is, a couple of the teams in their division, specifically the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers, added top-shelf talent in the offseason, while the Penguins settled for fine-tuning their depth chart.

While the Penguins don't have as many question marks as they did at this time a year ago, they don't have any guarantees, either. Especially when they sputtered through training camp with, in many cases, little apparent focus or sense of urgency.

It is folly to assume that anything, good or bad, is assured to carry over from the preseason. But if that mind-set spills over into the regular season, the Penguins might be fortunate to compete for a playoff spot, let alone the Atlantic Division championship.

CENTERS

The analysis: Crosby, Malkin and Staal give the Penguins a ridiculous bounty of quality young centers. Most teams would be delighted to have one with such a pedigree, and they have three.

Crosby offered compelling evidence that players don't necessarily struggle after excellent rookie seasons by winning the scoring title and MVP award, but there's no guarantee Malkin and Staal will fare as well the second time around. Still, Malkin should be better equipped to handle the NHL's regular-season grind, which didn't seem to bother Staal much in the first place, as well as the cultural differences from his native Russia.

As coach Michel Therrien showed when he reconfigured his forward lines yesterday and put Staal on Crosby's left side, he won't hesitate to move Staal or Malkin to the wing if production from the players there isn't meeting expectations.

Talbot is a classic fourth-liner, providing energy and doing the dirty work, but shouldn't expect to pile up major minutes with so many big-time talents in front of him.

WINGERS

The analysis: If the Penguins could send six or eight wingers of the same caliber as their centers over the boards, Las Vegas might be offering odds on their chances of going 82-0. Of course, if those guys were that gifted and earning a wage commensurate with their production, the Penguins would have a payroll roughly twice that is allowed by the NHL's salary cap.

Sykora should prove be a nice addition and isn't likely to become an unabashed flop like Nils Ekman was last season, but the Penguins could use another quality goal-scorer or two on the wing. That will be less of an issue if guys such as Malone and Recchi find the net more than once every few weeks.

Christensen played wing throughout camp and has the skill needed to score regularly, but was moved back into the middle between Roberts and Armstrong yesterday. Whether he'll still be there by the end of the weekend, let alone the end of the season, is anyone's guess.

While the projected scoring from the wings is suspect, the grit there is not. Roberts, Laraque, Ruutu, Armstrong and Hall can make things awfully unpleasant for opponents with their physical play.

DEFENSEMEN

The analysis: No one will mistake this unit for one of the great defenses in NHL history, but it isn't a glaring liability anymore, either.

Gonchar and Whitney are serious point-producers -- they ranked second and sixth, respectively, among NHL defensemen last season -- and Orpik has developed into a punishing hitter.

The wild card is Darryl Sydor, 35, signed as a free agent because the Penguins believed he still can contribute at both ends of the rink. If they were correct, he'll be an extremely valuable addition.

The rest of the group is known primarily for its defensive work. Eaton, when healthy, is a particularly good shot-blocker and penalty-killer, while Scuderi and Nasreddine are here because of what they can do in their own zone.

GOALIES

The analysis: Last season, Fleury silenced the critics who had concluded that he was doomed to be a major bust, and never would be a decent No. 1 goalie at this level. His main challenge is to become increasingly consistent, forcing opponents to earn any goal they get off him.

Fleury has made enormous technical strides in the past few years -- he no longer relies on sheer athleticism to stop pucks, counting instead on good positioning and controlling rebounds -- and it shows in his personal statistics.

Turning over the No. 2 job to Sabourin is a bit risky, given that he has appeared in just 14 NHL games, and his poor performance in the Penguins' next-to-last exhibition game did nothing to allay the fears of those who fret about what will happen if Sabourin must replace Fleury for an extended period. Still, Therrien believes in him and most of Sabourin's teammates remember how well he performed in training camp a year ago.