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Q: What do you think the chances are that the Penguins would try to sign Peter Forsberg? He could either be a rent-a-player for the rest of the season or he could sign a multi-year contract, and the Pens don't have to trade draft picks or important players.

Justin Sobieralski, Pittsburgh

MOLINARI: It seems a virtual certainty that Forsberg will be back in the NHL in the near future, but it also seems fairly clear that he doesn't have any interest in playing for the Penguins, regardless of whether they would be inclined to sign him. Philadelphia is widely regarded as the frontrunner to get him, although there are reports of numerous clubs -- from Detroit to Vancouver, Ottawa to Colorado -- making a pitch for him.

Forsberg apparently would like to sign a contract for 2008-09 as well as the balance of this season, and it remains to be seen what impact, if any, that will have on the offers he receives because of the effect a seven-figure salary for him could have on clubs that project themselves to be near the still-to-be-determined salary-cap limit for next season.

Q: Many times, the Penguins seem to give a lackluster effort in one period, followed by a dynamic performance in the next. Do you think this is because they are very much a players' team, and not motivated by the coach? They seem to have no fear of the coach's wrath (except for the marginal players, and only since Scotty Bowman left). Or is it a conditioning issue? I don't see this in many other NHL teams.

Ron, Follansbee, W. Va.

MOLINARI: It's only natural that fans focus on the team they follow -- what the opposing team does or does not do to affect the outcome of a game usually isn't taken into consideration -- but the reality is that the Penguins hardly are the only club that doesn't consistently string together three strong periods. (Which certainly was the case during their 4-3, come-from-ahead overtime loss in New Jersey Monday.)

Their 4-1 victory against Carolina at Mellon Arena last Saturday was a pretty good example of that. The Penguins (and, based on an unscientific sampling, their fans) felt they had an awful first period, began to get their game together in the second and came on strong in the third. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, believed they had an excellent first period and start of the second, but then lost their focus and drive and were awful for the balance of the game.

The reality probably is a hybrid of those perspectives. Carolina was good early and the Penguins started slow, but the Hurricanes' edge was dulled as the game went along and the Penguins gained momentum.

Conditioning most certainly isn't an issue in the Penguins' inconsistency -- an out-of-shape team wouldn't logically be expected to get stronger as a game goes along, as the Penguins did Saturday -- and I'm not sure why you feel the Penguins don't fear coach Michel Therrien's authority. On those rare occasions when they have more than 20 healthy bodies on hand, one player, if not more, is going to spend games in street clothes, and Therrien has the final say on that, to say nothing of how ice time is distributed.

Q: If, after a puck is kicked, it goes off either the goalie or a defensemen before going into the goal, would it be allowed?

Nathaniel Hazelton, Allison Park

MOLINARI: No. And it wouldn't count if it struck an official on the way to the net, either.