It could have become the decisive moment in the game Monday and sent the partisans at Boston's home opener away with a happy memory.

Instead, it was reduced to an afterthought, or less, for most of those watching at the TD Banknorth Garden. Which, it's safe to assume, is precisely what Mike Zigomanis had in mind.

The Penguins and Boston were tied, 1-1, 76 seconds into overtime, when Penguins goalie Dany Sabourin stopped Bruins center David Krejci from the left side of the crease.

That averted one crisis, but created the potential for another because it set up a faceoff in the Penguins' end.

The perils of that were obvious, considering that Penguins opponents already had won such draws cleanly and then scored important goals twice this season.

Mike Zigomanis

But this time, Zigomanis defused the threat by beating Krejci. That allowed the Penguins to get control of the puck and contributed to what eventually became a 2-1 shootout victory for the visitors.

Zigomanis was acquired from Phoenix a few weeks ago because of his ability to win such draws, and he hasn't disappointed: He has won 19 of 31 faceoffs in five games with the Penguins, a team-best success rate of 62 percent.

But while Zigomanis has made the Penguins far more formidable in that facet of the game, his prowess might be overshadowing their evolution from the worst faceoff team in the NHL the past several seasons to one that is downright average. Or maybe (gasp), even a bit better than that.

Going into last night's games, the Penguins ranked 11th in the league, winning 52.2 percent of their draws. That's a dramatic upgrade from last season, when they won just 46.1 percent and finished last.

Zigomanis has been a major factor in that, of course, but most of the Penguins' returning centers have upgraded their performances on faceoffs.

The four most active Penguins players on faceoffs, with their success rates this season and last season, are as follows:

• Max Talbot, 58.2 percent, 45 percent.

• Sidney Crosby, 55.4 percent, 51.4 percent.

• Jordan Staal, 43.5 percent, 42.2 percent.

• Evgeni Malkin 34.6 percent, 39.3 percent.

"Everyone's moving in the right direction," Staal said.

Well, almost everyone. Malkin, who has won 18 of 34 draws, does not seem to bring the same intensity and focus to most faceoffs that he does to the rest of his game, and it shows in his stats.

The conspicuous spike in the Penguins' faceoff success aside, the team actually improved over the course of last season and controlled 47.2 percent during the playoffs.

That kind of progress wasn't unexpected, given that Talbot, at 24, is the oldest of their returning centers. Malkin is 22, Crosby 21 and Staal 20.

Just as predictably, most cite experience as a critical factor in their progress.

"The more we take, the more we learn," Talbot said. "You get older, more experienced and smarter."

And sometimes you get painful lessons -- such as when Crosby lost a defensive-zone faceoff in the final minute of the second period Oct. 14 against Philadelphia, triggering a sequence that ended when Simon Gagne of the Flyers deflected in a tying goal.

Or two nights later, when Washington's Michael Nylander beat Malkin on a draw and pulled the puck to Alexander Semin, whose blur of a goal sparked a comeback that yielded a 4-3 Capitals victory.

"The one against Washington, that was a game-changer," Staal said. "They really got momentum off that goal."

The Penguins might well give up another goal or two like those this season -- "You can have the best faceoff man in the league, and it's going to happen a couple of times a year," Talbot said -- but that doesn't detract from the strides they've made on draws.

And for a team that emphasizes puck possession, the value of getting control of it as soon as play begins cannot be overstated.

"It's a lot more fun when you can play with the puck," Zigomanis said.

The Penguins have done that fairly often this season. Zigomanis, though, believes they can do even better.

"We should try to get up to 55, 56 [percent]," he said. "That would be decent, so we have a little work to do."

NOTES -- Coach Michel Therrien gave the Penguins yesterday off. ... Readers of AskMen.com, a men's lifestyle Web site, made Crosby No. 45 on a list of men who had the greatest influence on the way other men think, behave and buy. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was No. 1.

• Game: Penguins vs. Hurricanes.

• When: 7:38 p.m. tomorrow.

• Where: Mellon Arena.

• TV: FSN Pittsburgh.