Q: Having watched both of the Penguins' playoff games, it appears that Ryan Whitney is their weakest link right now. He blew his coverage to allow the Senators to get their first goal (in Game 2) and he hasn't been doing much offensively. Is it time for Michel Therrien to scratch him and give Darryl Sydor a chance?

Brett, Washington, D.C.

MOLINARI: Whitney, as has been noted several times in this space, is coming off a disappointing regular season and, his plus-minus rating of plus-3 for Games 1 and 2 aside, has not performed to his potential so far against the Senators. (Although he unveiled a new dimension in his game when he pounded Ottawa defenseman Wade Redden after Redden got in a scuffle with Sidney Crosby late in the series-opener.)

Sydor, although he has had ups and downs this season, is a fairly steady and reliable veteran, and the temptation to get him into the lineup is understandable. Still, Whitney has the kind of offensive ability that could be a difference-maker for the Penguins this spring if he gets his game back in sync, so the thinking here is that, at least for now, the Penguins should stick with him.

It's not that Therrien would have a hard time justifying putting him in the press box (although definitely not back on left wing), especially with a capable replacement such as Sydor on the roster. Just that Whitney has the ability to be an enormous plus for the Penguins, and giving him a continued opportunity to do so seems a worthwhile gamble.

Q: I recently read this gem of a quote from Ottawa coach Bryan Murray: "I'd like to see the other team to have some things to overcome." If you run into him, please give him the memo about the Penguins losing key players throughout the season; Marc-Andre Fleury, Mark Eaton, Gary Roberts, or maybe even that other guy, what's his name? Oh yeah, Sidney Crosby. I respect most coaches, but for some reason Murray rubs me the wrong way with his whining. I never hear coaches whine as much as he does. Am I alone in this thought?

Mitch Marklow, Erie

MOLINARI: As was noted before the series began, Murray will say anything he believes will work to the benefit of his team, no matter how outrageous or illogical it is. That clearly was his intent when he accused the Penguins of intentionally losing their regular-season finale in Philadelphia to set up a first-round meeting with the Senators -- that he was calling the integrity of the NHL and the sport into question didn't seem to factor into Murray's thinking before (or after, for that matter) he made his accusation -- and this is another example of trying to foster that the-world's-against-us mindset he's seeking.

Murray is a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them. And while the Penguins' personnel issues aren't his concern during the regular season, the injuries to guys like Crosby, Fleury, Eaton and Roberts, among others, weren't treated as state secrets. The Penguins are fortunate enough to be exceptionally healthy at the moment -- Eaton, who is recovering from reconstructive knee surgery, is their only player who's unable to dress for games -- that wasn't the case for most of the regular season, when they lost 281 man-games to injuries and illness. And every one of those was accounted for publicly.

No one has suggested that being forced to play without Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly is anything less than a major setback for the Senators; those are three major contributors, and Alfredsson is a world-class talent. But injuries, including ones to key players, are part of the game, and for Murray to imply that his team is the only one to face that kind of adversity is ridiculous.

At least it is until you put it alongside his accusation that the Penguins lost Game No. 82 of the regular season on purpose. That one was worthy of a fine so hefty it would have caused even Eugene Melnyk, the Senators' staggeringly wealthy owner, to feel the pinch, rather than just the warning that Commissioner Gary Bettman issued about casting aspersions on the league's integrity.