Marc-Andre Fleury doesn't see any problem with the Penguins keeping three goaltenders on the roster.

"We all get along very good, so I'm sure we'll find ways to adjust to it. I'm sure it will be fine," Fleury said yesterday after being recalled from a two-week conditioning assignment with the club's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton affiliate.

Yesterday's 2-1 shootout loss to San Jose at Mellon Arena was the Penguins' 35th game without Fleury, who left a Dec. 6 game at Calgary early with a right high ankle sprain.

Ty Conklin, who was called up from Wilkes-Barre on an emergency basis after Fleury was hurt, has been among the top goaltenders in the NHL in his weeks with the Penguins, who also have Dany Sabourin on the roster.

Penguins coach Michel Therrien would not commit to starting Fleury, who won 40 games last season, in goal tomorrow night on the road against the New York Islanders.

"He didn't practice [yesterday]. He traveled," Therrien said. "[Today] there's only a few guys who will go on the ice. I think he needs a quality practice, but we'll see."

Fleury was 3-2 in five games at Wilkes-Barre, with both losses ending 1-0. He had a goals-against average of 1.42, a save percentage of .950 and did not give up more than two goals in any game.

"It was pretty good," Fleury said. "I was excited to get back to playing. A little rust in the beginning. As a couple games went along, I felt a little better."

Winger Jarkko Ruutu played in his 400th NHL game, but being old wasn't the reason he moved in on Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov in the shootout with the speed of a snail on tranquilizers.

"It's one of the moves I like to use. Make the goalie think," said Ruutu, who was the third Penguins shooter and, after finally reaching the net, lifted the puck over Nabokov's left leg pad to tie the shootout at two goals apiece. Jeremy Roenick then scored to give San Jose the win.

Ruutu, 32, has played 133 of those 400 games with the Penguins.

"Who would have believed that? A slug like me," he said. "No, it feels good. It's a milestone."

Erik Christensen returned after missing five games because of a shoulder injury. He scored the Penguins' goal in regulation and beat San Jose's Nabokov on the first shootout attempt.

"It was fine," Christensen said. "Just coming back after so long, not playing for a week and a half, it takes some getting used to the pace of the game. I'm looking forward to the next one."

The start of the game was delayed 18 minutes while crews cleaned up after a problem on the ice.

The Zamboni cleaning the ice after players' warmup stalled at center ice, began smoking and spewed a large amount of blood-red hydraulic fluid. The vehicle left a trail of the fluid as it backed off the ice.

Jay Roberts, general manager of SMG, which operates Mellon Arena, said a hydraulic fluid leak was probably preferable to transmission fluid being dumped on the ice.

"Transmission might have been a little hotter and melted the ice a little more," Roberts said.

The arena has two Zambonis and used one the rest of the game

Penguins forward Nathan Smith was put on waivers Saturday, meaning he could get picked up by another team before noon today. However, Smith was still in Pittsburgh yesterday and could remain here, rather than being sent to Wilkes-Barre, if he is not claimed. ... The Penguins reassigned forward Connor James to Wilkes-Barre before the game. He played four games since his Feb. 15 recall.