The Penguins signed Matt Cooke as a free agent last summer because they liked his grit. The way he competes. The way he battles.

That he could be a goal-a-game guy if placed in the right situation wasn't part of their thought process.

Consider it an honest oversight.

Cooke scored the Penguins' first two goals in their 3-1 victory last night against Anaheim at Mellon Arena, giving him three in as many games since being bumped to the No. 1 line.

Although Cooke has spent most of his career in blue-collar roles, he hasn't looked the least bit out of place since being pressed into service as a top-six forward.

"When given the opportunity, I like to think I'm well-positioned up there," said Cooke, who played left wing alongside Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora last night.

Those three goals nearly match his total of four from the previous 39 games, most of which he spent on the third line.

"He's such a warrior," coach Michel Therrien said. "It's nice to see that type of player get rewarded."

The victory, which moved the Penguins (22-20-4) into eighth place in the Eastern Conference, was not their most spectacular of the season, but ranks among the most impressive because of the adversity they had to overcome.

"We had to be at our best to beat them," Cooke said. "This is a gratifying win for the group in here."

The Penguins played the final two periods without defenseman Brooks Orpik, who left the game late in the first with an undisclosed injury.

There was no immediate word on how much more time, if any, he will miss.

Orpik's injury is just the latest in a long list of them for the Penguins. Center Sidney Crosby, who appeared to hurt his left knee late in their 6-3 loss Wednesday to Washington, headlined a list of seven regulars who were unable to play against the Ducks.

"We got the win," defenseman Hal Gill said. "But it would be nice to do it with a full crew."

It figures to be a long time before that happens.

Crosby's status for their game against the New York Rangers tomorrow at Mellon Arena hasn't been determined. The same is true of winger Pascal Dupuis and defensemen Kris Letang and Rob Scuderi, while defenseman Sergei Gonchar and forwards Max Talbot and Mike Zigomanis are out indefinitely.

Scuderi, who has significant swelling around his right eye, plans to skate today, but Talbot has been placed on injured reserve and won't play until after the All-Star break.

Because of all the injuries, fully a quarter of the Penguins' lineup last night consisted of players who have spent the majority of this season in the American Hockey League. But while their skill level was lower than usual, there was nothing wrong with their sweat glands, and they outworked Anaheim for much of the evening.

"They won more one-on-one battles than we did," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said.

Left winger Paul Bissonnette gave what had been a relatively subdued crowd reason to cheer at 16:16 of the opening period, when he fought Ducks defenseman Nathan McIver and dropped him with a series of left jabs.

That bout gave the Penguins a lift, too, and Cooke put them in front to stay by scoring 20.3 seconds before the intermission. He picked up a loose puck behind the Anaheim goal line, curled out from around the right post and swept a shot off the far post and into the net.

"Coming into the locker room with a 1-0 lead keeps the energy up, the excitement level up," Cooke said.

Cooke made sure it stayed there when, 23 seconds into the second period, he corralled a Ryan Whitney rebound and threw in a backhander from the inner edge of the left circle.

Ryan Getzlaf converted a Bobby Ryan set-up during a power play at 14:38 of the second to make it 2-1, but Gill put the game away for the Penguins at 15:05 of the third.

He beat Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere from the left point after Jordan Staal cleanly won a faceoff in the Anaheim end. It was Gill's first goal in 40 games.

"I like to save them up," Gill said, smiling.

Well, he picked the right time to break this one out. Just like Therrien when he made Cooke a first-liner.