Since he was named the youngest team captain in NHL history more than 2 1/2 years ago, Sidney Crosby has vowed to lead by deed more than by word.

He has had to alter that a bit as the Penguins have struggled to pull out just four wins over the past month.

"Things have probably had to be said more over the last couple months than before," said Crosby, 21 and in his second season wearing the "C." "When you're winning, everything's great, but it's been a challenge. I'm still learning. For the most part, though, I've tried to handle it the right way.

"We have good support in this [dressing] room. It takes more than one guy talking to change things sometimes. All guys have been responsible, and we all realize we have to play better."

Crosby said he finds teammates are more likely to pay attention if he picks and chooses the times he addresses them.

"I don't think anyone's wasting their breath when they're talking," he said. "That's the point of not talking all the time. You don't want to be tuned out."

Center Jordan Staal, a year younger than Crosby and an alternate captain during December, finds Crosby's tactics effective.

"I think he's done a great job," Staal said. "He doesn't speak up every game or between every period, but when he feels it's important, I'm sure he'll say it, and definitely guys listen."

It's not unusual for co-owner and Hall of Fame center Mario Lemieux to be around Mellon Arena when the Penguins practice, but yesterday he watched closely from the players' runway during the last half-hour -- and that's not an everyday thing.

When coach Michel Therrien left the ice, Lemieux turned and followed him.

"We talk a lot," Therrien said. "When you get a chance to have a person like this around you, you certainly have to use him. It's always good advice, more than welcome."

During the time Lemieux observed, the Penguins worked repeatedly on just one drill, five-on-five, primarily with an emphasis on tightening things in the neutral zone.

"We took some time to review some things about where we're supposed to play and made some adjustments," Therrien said, adding that the hour-plus session was the first quality practice the Penguins had in some time, thanks to a grueling schedule.

"I liked the spirit of the players, the concentration," he said.

The Penguins returned forward Tim Wallace to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, leaving them with 11 healthy forwards unless Pascal Dupuis can play tonight.

Dupuis, who has missed the past two games because of an undisclosed injury, returned to practice but left after 25 minutes. Therrien said Dupuis' status remains unclear.

The forward lines looked like this: Crosby centering Evgeni Malkin and Dupuis, Staal centering Petr Sykora and Matt Cooke, Max Talbot centering Miroslav Satan and Tyler Kennedy, and Dustin Jeffrey centering Chris Minard and Eric Godard. Once Dupuis left, Satan replaced him on the top line.

In his most recent stint with the Penguins, Wallace had one assist in six games and a memorable fight with Boston's bigger, thicker Milan Lucic.