Penguins coach Michel Therrien has used the word "fragile" several times recently when asked about goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's confidence level.

Therrien said yesterday, though, the coaching staff has not had its belief in Fleury shaken by his struggles at various times this season, and that he will be in goal when the Penguins face the New York Islanders at 7:38 tonight at Mellon Arena.

"One thing I wish people would understand is that we haven't lost any faith in Marc-Andre Fleury," Therrien said. "We expect that he could be better, but there are two philosophies [about] how we should handle Marc-Andre. You can put him out there and just play, play, play or do you take a step back and give him a chance to work in practice ... on some stuff he needs to work on?

"Marc-Andre Fleury, at the end of the year, you'll see will be [in games] lots of times. That's the way we're handling [Fleury]. He was good to us last year, and I know that, at the end of this year, he will be good for us."

Fleury is 4-7, with a 3.56 goals-against average and .893 save percentage, in 12 appearances. He has backed up Dany Sabourin in five of the past eight games.

Coffey time

Paul Coffey, a key figure in the Penguins' resurgence in the late 1980s and a member of their first Stanley Cup team, will be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame tonight.

Coffey, the centerpiece of a seven-player trade with Edmonton in 1987 that came in the wake of a bitter contract dispute with Oilers general manager Glen Sather, had 108 goals and 332 assists in 331 regular-season games here before going to Los Angeles in 1992 in a three-way trade.

He joined the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004 as part of a class that included one-time Penguins teammate Larry Murphy.

Not a weighty matter

It's not like Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro had a weight problem. Nonetheless, he figures that shedding 10 or so pounds in the summer will prove to be a good thing for him as the season moves along.

"It wasn't something I necessarily focused on doing," DiPietro said. "It's just something that, over the course of the summer, [happened] through working out. I don't really feel much different."

The difference, though, could come a few months from now. Because he is carrying fewer pounds -- DiPietro is listed as weighing 210 -- he might reduce the wear and tear on his hips, one of which was surgically repaired, and that could make it possible for him to feel better and play more often.

"I hope so," DiPietro said. "It's probably good to be a little lighter. Hopefully save your legs for the end of the season."

Power-play success no surprise

The Penguins have at least one power-play goal in 17 of their first 18 games.

Richard Park, the ex-Penguin who is part of the Islanders' penalty-killing corps, said it is not a major shock that the Penguins are getting something from their power play virtually every time they play.

"It doesn't surprise me, because they're so talented," he said. "Whenever you have that much talent on the ice and give them the time and space that you're going to get on a power play at times, you're going to make plays."

Slap shots

Willy O'Ree, who broke the NHL's color barrier in 1958 as a member of the Boston Bruins, will conduct youth-hockey clinics here Saturday. ... The Penguins met with Paul Kelly, new director of the NHL Players' Association, after practice yesterday.