A couple of moments help define Penguins forward Max Talbot's career to this point.

One came June 3 when he scored against Detroit with 34.3 seconds left in regulation to send Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final into overtime and stave off elimination.

The other came Dec. 1, 2007, when he donned star teammate Sidney Crosby's jersey briefly and fooled several thousand fans at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto who had paid to watch the teams' morning skates, only to discover the vast majority of the Penguins -- including Crosby -- weren't skating.

"That was pretty good," Talbot said, with a grin, while recalling the prank.

Talbot, 24, added another moment to remember yesterday when he signed a two-year extension with the Penguins, a contract that averages $1.05 million per season. It kicks in next summer and takes him through 2010-11.

He joins a core of regulars signed to deals that extend at least through 2010-11, the debut season the city's new arena, Consol Energy Center. Others include Crosby, fellow forwards Evgeni Malkin, Tyler Kennedy and Pascal Dupuis, defensemen Ryan Whitney and Brooks Orpik and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Center Jordan Staal, whose entry-level contract expires next summer, heads a list of those in the final, or only, year of their contract. Staal, who could become a restricted free agent in July, reiterated he is confident he will remain with the Penguins.

Others whose contracts are up after this season include forwards Petr Sykora, Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko and defensemen Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill.

Talbot's agent, Pat Brisson, began discussions with Penguins general manager Ray Shero during training camp.

"It was very friendly, very comfortable," Brisson said. "It wasn't rushed."

From Talbot's standpoint, it was inevitable. He's only got eyes for the Penguins.

"There's no way I was thinking about leaving or anything like that," said Talbot, who is earning $700,000 this season.

"There's no better place to play hockey than Pittsburgh. With the exciting young team we have and the success we had last year, what we've achieved and what everybody expects us to achieve, it's so fun to be part of this hockey team and to be part of this town."

With high energy, a talent for killing penalties, a knack for scoring big, if not abundant goals, and a sense of humor that fills the locker room, Talbot has been a good fit with the Penguins, who selected him in the eighth round of the 2002 draft.

Such a good fit that, in this season marked by a succession of injuries, he's no exception.

Talbot practiced yesterday, but it is not clear whether he will be able to play tonight against Toronto at Mellon Arena. He has missed the past two games because of a nagging left foot problem that is believed to date back to Nov. 26, when he got hit by a shot at close range in a 5-3 win against the New York Islanders.

In 28 games this season, Talbot has four goals and three assists. Eight of his 34 career goals have been winners, and that doesn't include the one in Game 5 against the Red Wings.

"It's nice to see a player develop over the course of a season, over the course of his career," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. "This is a player that we drafted and [who] paid his dues in the American Hockey League. He became an important player for us. He had a great playoffs last year."

NOTES -- Whitney is slated to play with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League tonight against visiting Albany on a conditioning assignment. He will return to Pittsburgh tomorrow and likely will make his NHL season debut in a home game Tuesday against Tampa Bay. He has been out because of offseason foot surgery. "You can practice for hours, do drills for hours, but it's not the same thing as being in a game, the pressure of the game to make the right decisions," Therrien said of the benefit to Whitney playing a game with the minor-league team. ... Dupuis, who was playing on Crosby's line Thursday when he left the 6-3 win at Atlanta with an unspecified injury, did not practice. His status for tonight is undetermined. Center Mike Zigomanis (shoulder) did not practice. ... The team traded minor-league center Jonathan Filewich to St. Louis for a conditional 2010 draft pick. ... The team held its annual party with the Make-A-Wish Foundation after practice. ... The Penguins will wear their blue throwback third jerseys tonight.