As he has been pretty much all season, defenseman Darryl Sydor was the first one on the ice for the Penguins' morning skate yesterday.

This time, for just the third this season, he knew he would be in the lineup last night against Carolina at Mellon Arena. Hal Gill missed the game because of an undisclosed injury.

"It's my life. It's what I want to do," Sydor, 36, said of playing.

He played in the season opener against Ottawa in Sweden because coach Michel Therrien said as a veteran Sydor deserved to be in that game. Two games later, Sydor played, but it was as a winger and a pointman on the second power-play unit.

"We have confidence in Darryl," Therrien said. "We believe he's capable of playing, but we had to make some [lineup] decisions."

Sydor, scratched in favor of then-rookie Kris Letang late last season and for some of the playoffs, has learned how to keep himself ready.

"Being out for a while, you just want to try to stay in shape and stay sharp," he said. "Probably the biggest thing is not so much your cardio and stuff like that; it's reaction and making plays under pressure."

Gill missed his first game and winger Matt Cooke missed his fourth consecutive game because of a muscle strain in the abdomen area. Therrien is hopeful both will be ready to play tomorrow in a road game against the New York Rangers.

Difference of opinion

Some of the Penguins got to skate a little longer than usual because they didn't have to clear the ice for Carolina, which has done away with morning skates.

Don't look for the Penguins to follow that route.

"They obviously have a reason they don't want to do it, and we have reasons why we want to do it," Therrien said. "The players like to be in their routine on a game day. We feel comfortable with that. It doesn't mean I've got the right answer or they've got the right answer."

70-plus game for Fleury?

If backup goaltender Dany Sabourin continues to play about once every seven games or so -- he was a big factor in the Penguins' 2-1 shootout win Monday in Boston, the team's seventh game -- that will put starter Marc-Andre Fleury on pace to top 70 appearances.

That would be a career high for Fleury, who made 67 appearances in 2006-07.

"I'm still pretty young, so it would be pretty cool," Fleury, 23, said. "If everything goes well and we win, that would be great."

Slap shots

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby reported improvement in the respiratory illness and severe sore throat he has been fighting for several days. ... The Penguins' equipment staff used a thin-bladed band saw to halve the puck from the 4-1 win Saturday against Toronto that was used on Crosby's 100th career goal and Evgeni Malkin's 200th career point. ... In what has become an annual ritual, five players -- Max Talbot, Pascal Dupuis, Paul Bissonnette, Tyler Kennedy and Eric Godard -- delivered pizzas to those waiting in line for student rush night. Some students spent the night for a place in line for the $20 tickets. ... In addition to Gill and Cooke, the Penguins scratched forward Bill Thomas. Carolina scratches were defenseman Frantisek Kaberle (leg) and forward Tuomo Ruutu (leg).