There's no doubt Todd Richards, coach of the Penguins' minor-league team in Wilkes-Barre, was delivering a message when he made Kris Letang a healthy scratch for two games last month.

It just wasn't necessarily the obvious one.

Oh, it's clear Richards wasn't satisfied with what he'd been getting from Letang; after all, it's not as if those all-expenses-paid trips to the press box were a reward.

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Scouting report

• Matchup: New York Islanders at Penguins, 7:38 p.m. today, Mellon Arena.
• TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh; WXDX-FM (105.9).
• Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury for Penguins. Rick DiPietro for Islanders.
• Penguins: Lost to Islanders, 3-2, at Nassau Coliseum Nov. 3. ... LW Jordan Staal has 11-game pointless streak. ... Have 1-3 record when leading at first intermission.
• Islanders: Are 6-2 in past eight games, 5-2 inside Atlantic Division. ... Former Penguins C Andy Hilbert does not have goal in his past 22 games. ... Road power play is tied for first in NHL rankings with conversion rate of 33.3 percent.
• Hidden stat: RW Miroslav Satan has Islanders' past three winning goals after getting two in 2006-07.

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Nonetheless, general manager Ray Shero said yesterday that having Letang sit out those games actually underscored how much regard management has for him, because Letang's major offense was failing to perform to his enormous potential.

"It's not like Kris Letang wasn't playing well," Shero said. "The expectation standard [for] Kris Letang is higher than for other players."

There's a reason for that, of course. Letang, 20, has offensive talents that could make him an impact player at this level for a lot of years.

How long it will take for that to happen remains to be seen, but Letang will have an opportunity to show whether he is ready to contribute in the NHL when the New York Islanders visit Mellon Arena at 7:38 tonight.

"We're interested to see how he reacts," coach Michel Therrien said.

Letang had one goal and six assists in 10 games in Wilkes-Barre, and the Penguins hope that adding his right-handed shot to their defense corps -- Letang is the only member of the group who isn't a lefty -- will give their sputtering offense a new dimension.

"I know that I have to be good in [the defensive] zone," Letang said, "but my strength is my offensive game."

Letang manned the right point on the No. 2 power-play unit -- Darryl Sydor and Brooks Orpik alternated on the left -- during some special-teams work before the formal start of practice at Southpointe yesterday.

Therrien confirmed that Letang will draw some power-play duty tonight and said he would "probably not" dress seven defensemen. That means Letang could get meaningful ice time at even-strength, too.

Therrien did not say which defenseman will be given tonight off to open a spot for Letang, but his arrival translates to a bit less job security for several guys on the blue line.

"The competition will be good for our team," Shero said.

A few months ago, the prevailing sentiment was that a job with the Penguins was Letang's to lose.

Unfortunately for all concerned, that's precisely what happened. Letang had a so-so performance at a rookie tournament in Kitchener, Ontario, and followed that with a lackluster showing in training camp.

When it was time for the Penguins to pare their roster to the regular-season limit, assigning Letang to Wilkes-Barre was a relatively easy and obvious move.

"I was not surprised," Letang said.

Upgrading his defensive game was Letang's priority in Wilkes-Barre -- "I think I improved that," he said -- but, if he is to be a factor here, it likely will be because of his puck skills.

"I know I can put the puck on net and create some offense," Letang said. "I think it's going to help the team if I do that."

Still, it's not as if Letang has a mandate to single-handedly rejuvenate an offense that has gotten nearly half of its goals from Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora.

"We're not looking at him as a savior, or anything like that," Shero said. "He's part of our future moving forward, and we'll see where it goes."

Letang's career path already has had a few twists -- starting the 2006-07 season in the NHL, when he was not supposed to, and not doing it this season, when he was -- and might well add more in coming years. What doesn't figure to change is the Penguins' belief that he is a significant piece of their long-range plans.

"This is a good young prospect we really like," Therrien said. "We have big expectations for him, but we're going to take one step at a time. We can't forget that he's 20 years old."

Shero hasn't. Just as he hasn't forgotten what Letang can do when he is on his game.

"There are five or six other 20-year-old defensemen in this league," he said. "And I believe Kris is as good as any of these kids."