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Q: As great as Evgeni Malkin has been this year, why haven't the Pens put him in on shootouts, especially with Erik Christensen gone and Sidney Crosby injured?

Geoff Clarke, West Chester, Pa.

MOLINARI: Malkin has proven this season, especially with his work since stepping into the void created by Crosby's high ankle sprain, that he can do just about everything well. Winning faceoffs and scoring in shootouts are two conspicuous exceptions, however. Malkin is 0-for-5 in the latter in 2007-08, 3-for-17 since breaking into the league.

He is the only Penguin who has been involved in more than one shootout but still is looking for his first shootout goal of the season. Of course, management probably can live with Malkin's inability to score in shootouts because he does so much to keep games from getting there in the first place.

Q: In your opinion, are the Penguins still set up for the long term, as Ray Shero has said, considering he gave up three draft picks and Angelo Esposito?

Mike Walther, Shirley, N.Y.

MOLINARI: Nothing the Penguins gave up at the trade deadline a week ago did irreparable harm to their organizational depth, but that doesn't mean they won't feel a pinch from those deals at some point in the future. (Esposito and a 2008 No. 1 draft choice went to Atlanta in the Marian Hossa trade, while a No. 2 this year and a fifth-rounder in 2009 were sent to Toronto for Hal Gill.)

The Penguins seem reasonably set over the long term on defense, with prospects such as Alex Goligoski, Brian Strait, Alex Grant and Carl Sneep, among others, although history shows that it's unlikely all will become productive at this level. They also have some intriguing forwards in the pipeline, including Luca Caputi, Dustin Jeffrey and Keven Veilleux, although management has to be concerned that prospects like Ryan Stone and Jonathan Filewich were not particularly impressive when given an opportunity in the NHL this season.

Esposito, the Penguins' top choice in last June's entry draft, was one of their few prospects who has shown significant goal-scoring potential, so dealing him obviously enlarged an already-significant hole in their developmental system. There also is a shortage of goaltending prospects, and trading high draft choices obviously hurts their chances of landing a promising one in the draft.

Q: The statistic "scoring chances" is often cited, but the criteria are never defined. For instance, is a shot that hits the post considered a scoring chance?

Robert, Pittsburgh

MOLINARI: In general, a shot that would have entered the net if not stopped by the goaltender is recorded as a shot on goal. (The official scorer does have the latitude to not award a shot if, say, the puck was shot the length of the ice, and barely was moving by the time it made it into the crease.)

Scoring chances are more subjective and, while kept by teams and some media outlets, are not an official league statistic. A scoring chance does not have to be a shot on goal; it is, basically, any sequence that leads to what the individual keeping track of the stat considers a legitimate opportunity to get a goal, regardless of whether it actually yields one. Even if the puck hits the post or crossbar or misses the net, it can be classified as a scoring chance.