Marc-Andre Fleury is coming back to a team desperate for a victory, a team that has tumbled about as far through the Eastern Conference standings as it dare without risking significant damage to its season.

But after spending the past 13 games as a spectator -- all but one of those in street clothes -- Fleury isn't about to take it upon himself to single-handedly pull the Penguins out of their skid.

"The thing for me will be to just do my job," he said. "Like I can. And like I should. If I do, I'm confident the team should do all right."

Which is pretty much the way his teammates seem to feel about their chances of pulling out of their 1-4 skid once Fleury is back.

To a man, they insist that backups Dany Sabourin and John Curry filled in admirably while Fleury recovered from a groin injury he got making a save late in the Penguins' 5-2 victory against Buffalo Nov. 15 at Mellon Arena.

Just as, to a man, they acknowledge that Fleury is capable of things that most goalies simply aren't.

"We all realize he's going to be the starting goalie, and you have certain assumptions about the starting goalie," defenseman Rob Scuderi said. "Like he's going to be there every night, or he's going to be your stopper if you struggle for a few games.

"You know a guy like him could possibly make the difference in a game, could really steal you a game."

Barring a setback in practice this week, Fleury will get his first chance to do that when the Penguins visit Atlanta at 7:08 p.m. Thursday.

They are coming off a stretch of seven games in 11 days, culminating in a lackluster 6-3 loss in Philadelphia Saturday, and coach Michel Therrien gave the players yesterday off to replenish their energy reserves.

But they figure to get in some vigorous workouts during the next three days -- a lack of practice time quite possibly has contributed to their disappointing performances of late -- which should help Fleury to regain his timing, along with confidence that the injured groin won't betray him.

"I want to get a couple of hard practices, make sure it holds up," he said. "I didn't get that much practice [last] week. We had lots of games."

Sabourin played most of those and, until the past week or so, had done quite well most of the time. Not so long ago, he ranked among the league leaders in save percentage and goals-against average, although his personal stats have gotten a bit bloated lately.

"We're confident that [Sabourin] can do the job," Scuderi said. "We haven't played our best hockey [in front of him]. If we had played normally, I think he'd have a few more wins."

Still, there's a reason that Fleury is the Penguins' go-to guy, and Sabourin a career backup. Sabourin has proven he can be a capable fill-in over the short term, while Fleury is paid to be a difference-maker.

The Penguins obviously are hoping that, after a little time to regain the edge on his game, Fleury can perform at something near the level he reached last season after returning from the high ankle sprain that prevented him from playing for nearly three months.

He was outstanding during the stretch drive, going 10-2-1, and even better during the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, when he probably was the Penguins' best player. And while he allowed a few suspect goals during the Cup final against Detroit, that hardly stripped the luster from his breakout season.

"He's one of the best in the league, if not the best," defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "Especially with the way he finished last year.

"He's one of the leaders on the team. When he's in there, it gives everyone a lot of confidence."

That's understandable, but the simple fact of Fleury's return shouldn't have them believing that an end to their slump is inevitable. The Penguins still have an injured list that could form the nucleus of a pretty fair team, and one guy, even an elite goalie, can't be expected to turn around a team speeding in the wrong direction.

"I can't score goals and I'm not going to go fight guys," Fleury said. "We're a team. We're going to win as a team, and we're going to lose as a team."

NOTES -- Therrien said forward Max Talbot, who appeared to injure a foot during the Penguins' 9-2 loss to the New York Islanders Thursday, has "a slight chance" of playing against the Thrashers, but that "there aren't many" of the Penguins' injured players likely to return then. ... The Penguins scored nine goals against the Islanders, matching their offensive output during their past four defeats.