OK, so this was just another step in Marc-Andre Fleury's return to the Penguins' lineup.

The important thing is, he took it. And it didn't hurt.

Fleury, out since Dec. 6 because of a high ankle sprain in his right leg, practiced with his teammates yesterday for the first time since being injured, and apparently got through the hour-long workout without anything resembling a setback.

"It was nice to just see him there," coach Michel Therrien said. "He's been out of the lineup for such a long time."

Although the Penguins do not have a target date for Fleury to be back in uniform, he seems optimistic that projections he will be out another 10 to 14 days are too conservative.

"I'm happy," Fleury said. "It's gotten a lot better lately."

While acknowledging that he needed a little longer than usual to get loose yesterday, Fleury didn't seem concerned about it.

"The first couple of drills, it was a little rougher when I'd first go down," he said. "But then, after a while, I got warmed up, and it felt better."

Penguins forwards Colby Armstrong, who missed the past two games because of a gastrointestinal illness, and Adam Hall, who missed the past four because of a sore groin, could return to the lineup tonight after making it through the workout yesterday unscathed.

"We'll see how they react to the practice," Therrien said. "If they're ready to play, they'll play."

Armstrong looks like a near-lock to play, while Hall's status is a bit less certain.

"I felt good out there," Armstrong said. "I'm feeling better every day."

Hall was fully involved in every aspect of the workout and reported no major difficulty.

"I'm encouraged," he said. "This was my first full practice, getting timing back and battling one-on-one with guys.

"It's still sore and stuff, when you really get down and push off, that first push. I'll talk to the trainers, and we'll make a decision [about playing tonight]."

Forget a fine or a suspension.

Penguins winger Jarkko Ruutu didn't get so much as a phone call, let alone any form of punishment, from the NHL for his knee-to-knee hit on Atlanta left winger Ilya Kovalchuk Wednesday.

"I didn't expect [to hear from the league], either," Ruutu said yesterday.

Replays suggested that two major penalties assessed to Ruutu in connection with the incident -- one for kneeing, for his hit on Kovalchuk, and the other for fighting, after Atlanta defenseman Steve McCarthy sought to avenge Kovalchuk by pummeling Ruutu -- were suspect, at best.

Ruutu, though, said he is not interested in trying to get the league to strike either from his record.

"The fighting major I got, I'm sure that could be taken back, but I don't think it really matters," he said. "The game is over."

Washington winger Alex Ovechkin became the first 40-goal man in the NHL this season when he scored four against Montreal Thursday. In the process, he added a couple of footnotes with Penguins connections.

He is the first player to have two four-goal games in the same season since 1995-96, when Mario Lemieux of the Penguins and Washington winger Peter Bondra did it. What's more, Ovechkin became the first player to reach 40 before February since Jaromir Jagr of the Penguins did it Jan. 14, 1997.