Penguins winger Jeff Taffe is 27 and had logged 150 NHL games going into the matchup against Toronto at Mellon Arena last night.

Yet there's something that makes him feel like he's a 20-year-old neophyte -- playing alongside star center Sidney Crosby.

"It's a little scary, to tell you the truth," Taffe said before the game, his sixth with the Penguins after spending most of this season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

He got moved up to the left side of that top line Thursday during a 6-3 win at Atlanta after Pascal Dupuis left the game with an unspecified injury. Dupuis remained out last night and is day to day, and Taffe went into the game against the Maple Leafs still lined up next to Crosby.

"Anybody will admit to [being scared] except Dupuis, because he's kind of used to it," Taffe said, with a small smile. "Whenever you're around Sid, it's kind of nerve-wracking, but, at the same time, it's just a game. If you go out there and do the best you can, I don't think he can get mad at that."

Keeping up with one of the most-gifted playmakers in the game is a challenge, especially for a guy who had 20 goals and 42 points over those first 150 games with Phoenix, the New York Rangers and the Penguins.

"Let him touch the puck as much as he wants," Taffe said of his strategy.

"He's such a good player, he creates so much room for everybody else that basically you just try to get open for him. Just stand in front of the net, and maybe he'll put one in off me."

In what was expected to be a final step in his recovery and rehabilitation from foot surgery, defenseman Ryan Whitney set out for Wilkes-Barre after practice Friday to play in the Baby Penguins' American Hockey League game last night against Albany.

He was concerned about navigating snowy roads, but not about the prospect of a blow to the ego in returning to the minor leagues on a conditioning assignment.

"If Chris Chelios can do it, I have no problem doing it," Whitney said of the 46-year-old Detroit defenseman who, coming back from a broken leg, had a conditioning assignment with Grand Rapids of the AHL earlier this month.

"It's fun to see some old friends," said Whitney, who spent parts of three seasons with Wilkes-Barre after his Boston University career.

The power play, operating without Whitney and Sergei Gonchar at the points all season, has sputtered at times, but Penguins coach Michel Therrien knows it can be infuriating even in good times.

"The power play is a frustrating thing because a 20 percent power play, you should say you're satisfied," he said. "That means four times out of five, you're [ticked], even if they played well. That's the reality."

The Penguins had a 19.3 percent proficiency, ranked 11th in the NHL, going into last night.

Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury chose to stick with his white pads rather than the butterscotch-pudding-colored ones he got to go with the team's blue third jerseys. He wants more time to break in the alternate ones. ... Forward Max Talbot, who missed the past two games because of a foot problem, returned, but the Penguins were without Dupuis and center Mike Zigomanis (shoulder). ... The Maple Leafs scratched defenseman Mike Van Ryn (concussion) and winger Ryan Hollweg. ... All but three Penguins -- veterans Petr Sykora, Philippe Boucher and Miroslav Satan -- participated in an optional morning skate.