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Q: How many man-games have been lost to injury thus far for the Penguins? What is the record for most man-games lost by the Penguins in a season?

Nick Marshall, Fredericksburg, Va.

MOLINARI: The Penguins have lost 73 man-games because of injuries and illness through the first 21 games this season. That projects to 285 over an 82-game season, which would be pretty close to their total from

2008-09 (276).

The individual leader last season was the since-departed Mike Zigomanis, who sat out 58 games while recovering from shoulder surgery. Sergei Gonchar finished a close second with 56.

The reason injuries have been such a topic of conversations lately is not necessarily the quantity, although seven guys were unable to dress for their 5-2 victory against Anaheim Monday, but the quality of player the Penguins have lost. They've been forced to get by without front-line forwards and defensemen who log a lot of minutes and fill prominent roles, not fourth-liners or spare defensemen who aren't much more than an afterthought on game nights.

While the Penguins include man-games lost information in the notes distributed to media members before games, neither they nor the league maintain official records of those (or, at least, has not always done so). Nor, for that matter, does the Elias Sports Bureau, so the team and league records for man-games lost are not known.

Q: Everyone loves the throwback jerseys the Penguins have. How plausible do you think it is for the front office to bring back the Stanley Cup uniforms that the team wore in 1991 and 1992 on a one-time basis, much the way Notre Dame uses its green jerseys? Can you imagine the crowd's reaction to that if it were a surprise?

Joe, State College

MOLINARI: Well, the nature of the crowd reaction to such a move will have to remain in people's imaginations, because making something like that happen probably would require a lot more time and effort than it is worth.

The NHL has strict regulations pertaining to merchandising, and one facet of that is that the league approve any changes made to a uniform.

That includes something as simple as adding a patch, let alone a complete uniform, even if it were to be worn just once.

When teams are interested in making major changes or introducing something like a third jersey, they have to take their ideas to the league office a year before the time when they hope to put them into effect.

Those guidelines don't exist in the minor leagues, which is why teams below the NHL level often break out special-occasion jerseys. The Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre is a great example of that; the Baby Penguins have had, among others, a green jersey for St. Patrick's Day and one with a camouflage motif to honor the armed services.

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