It has been a question hovering around the Penguins since they had a slow start to the season.

Can they catch fire as they did a year ago, when shortly after the season's midpoint they launched a 16-game stretch with no regulation losses and blazed to 105 points and the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference?

Defenseman Ryan Whitney thinks the club might be staring at an answer.

"I'm pretty sure we're doing it right now," Whitney said after the team's sixth win in a row, 3-0 against Florida Saturday at Mellon Arena. The teams have a rematch tomorrow night at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla.

"With all these games we've won lately, it's kind of like what we did last year."

The Penguins stand at 23-16-2, 48 points, at the halfway mark of the season. They are second in the Atlantic Division and stand as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Whether the six-game winning streak can be parlayed into a season-shaping monster stretch is anyone's guess.

"I don't want to start predicting that," team captain and leading scorer Sidney Crosby said. "That's a roll that none of us might ever hit again."

Still, there are indications the Penguins have hit their stride after going 8-11-2 through the first quarter of the season.

The next game, they twice came back from a two-goal deficit for a 6-5 shootout win at Ottawa, the team that bounced the Penguins in the first round of the playoffs last spring and the top team in the East this season.

That win might have sparked something, as it was the start of a 15-5 run going into tomorrow night, but coach Michel Therrien doesn't want to finger a particular game.

"I've never been a fan of turning points," Therrien said. "There were times [before the Ottawa game] I was saying the results were not there, but I liked the way we were playing. I believe in it.

"We had a tough start, but the first half you've got to be excited the way we played, especially the last month and a half."

The results certainly have been there more recently, and there seem to be many reasons.

Early in the season, Crosby and sometime linemate Evgeni Malkin were carrying the scoring load. Now others are pitching in.

The Penguins have overcome the loss of four regulars to long-term injuries -- goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, defenseman Mark Eaton and forwards Maxime Talbot and Gary Roberts -- that occurred after the winning started.

"I like our depth -- we're missing some key players," Therrien said. "I like the leadership from the young players."

They also seem to have gotten a spark from a few players promoted from their Wilkes-Barre/Scranton minor-league club during the season.

Goaltender Ty Conklin has gone 7-0 with two shutouts in becoming the top fill-in during Fleury's absence. Kris Letang has given the team more flexibility on defense as a right-handed shot and is a special-teams regular. Speedy center Tyler Kennedy has four winning goals among his 12 points in 28 games.

"I don't think it's a coincidence," Therrien said.

The Penguins had five fewer points after 41 games last season but picked up a hefty 62 points over the second half.

Their total projects to 96 points -- unless they can come up with a gangbusters second half again.

"We're looking to get to 100 again," Whitney said.

There are still some things that need to be upgraded if the Penguins hope to come close to their second-half surge of last season. Chief among them is their divisional record.

They are 4-10-1 against Atlantic Division teams, and three of their losses in their 15-5 run have come inside the division.

That hasn't prevented the Penguins from developing into a confident bunch, one that perhaps can put together a strong run to rival last year's.

"I think so," forward Jordan Staal said. "We can do anything if we put our minds to it. We have the right amount of talent and the right character and the right guys.

"We feel comfortable. We're winning games, playing good hockey. It's a good time to do that, going into the second half."