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Q: Are the Penguins talented enough on defense to make a strong push for the Cup? Relying too much on goalies and offensive talent can only take you so far, right?

John Zubeck, Jr., Harrisburg

MOLINARI: The issue is not about the Penguins' talent on defense, because with guys like Sergei Gonchar, Ryan Whitney and Kris Letang, they have some pretty serious skill back there. The real question is how well that group will be able to play in its own end.

Games tend to be low-scoring during the playoffs, and the Penguins have the kind of offensive skill that can be decisive in a close game. Guys like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin can only be difference-makers, though, if games are tight, and sound defensive play is the best way of making that happen. For the defensemen, that means limiting the number of high-percentage shots, deflections and rebounds other teams get. There will be a premium on things like good positioning, blocking shots and using sticks to break up passes. And of course, it will be imperative that the forwards commit to fulfilling their duties in the defensive zone, because team defense is a six-man operation.

Also, it should be noted that the Penguins' goaltending is far from playoff-tested at this level. Marc-Andre Fleury's experience is limited to a five-game loss to Ottawa in the opening round last season, and Ty Conklin, his outstanding work this season aside, has five NHL playoff minutes on his resume. That doesn't mean either is incapable of helping the Penguins make a long playoff run. Just that neither has done anything like that to this point in his career.

Q: Do you think the Marian Hossa trade will define Ray Shero's place in general manager history, as the Ron Francis-Ulf Samuelsson-Grant Jennings deal did for Craig Patrick in 1991?

Steve Grazier, Richmond, Ohio

MOLINARI: It certainly is Shero's signature move to this point of his career as the Penguins' GM, but it's a little early to know if it will be the defining move of his tenure. If the Penguins go on to win a Stanley Cup this spring, it's almost certain they would do so with a major contribution from Hossa, so Shero would be toasted for making such a bold move, and rightly so. Of course, if they get knocked off in Round 1, he won't be toasted as much as he'll be deep-fried. Especially if he fails to re-sign Hossa, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.

(And while getting Francis and Samuelsson from Hartford one day before the deadline in 1991 made the Penguins' two Cups possible and ranks among the finest examples ever of a GM identifying and addressing his team's needs, Patrick's detractors will point out that his legacy includes deals that didn't turn out quite so well, like sending Markus Naslund to Vancouver for Alek(cq) Stojanov.)

Q: A team has pulled its goalie in an attempt to tie the game. Trying to fight off the attack, a player who broke his stick kicks the puck out of the (defensive) zone. He gets enough force into the kick that the puck reaches the empty net and goes in. Is the goal waved off because it was directed in with a direct kicking motion or is the kick so inadvertent that the goal is allowed?

Joe Stiger, Avalon

MOLINARI: The subject of a player directing the puck into the net with a "distinct kicking motion" (which the league describes as "one which, with a pendulum motion, the player propels the puck with his skate into the net") is addressed at several places in the NHL rulebook. Never is there a reference to distance; for example, that goals will be disallowed if the puck is kicked from inside the attacking zone, or from 100 or fewer feet. Consequently, it seems that the goal would be waved off, even if the player's intent simply was to get the puck out of his defensive zone, not to put it into the other team's vacated net.