ATLANTA-- The Penguins' defense corps is slowly coming back together.

Barring a late setback, Brooks Orpik expects to return to their lineup tonight against Atlanta.

"I think I'm in, as long as all goes well [today]," he said after the Penguins' practice in suburban Duluth yesterday.

Orpik has not played since getting what is believed to be an injury to his right knee in the Penguins' 3-0 loss Nov. 10 in Boston. He has been practicing with a brace on that knee.

Orpik's comeback hit a minor bump yesterday. He took a puck in the chin in practice and needed 10 stitches to close the wound it caused.

Defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who missed 12 games because of a broken wrist, returned to the lineup for the Penguins' 6-2 loss Thursday in Ottawa. Defensemen Jay McKee, Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski still are recovering from injuries.

Longtime Mellon Arena public-address announcer John Barbero, who is being treated for inoperable brain cancer, received a Stanley Cup ring yesterday.

The ring was purchased by team owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle.

Although Barbero gave up his announcing duties before this season because of his illness, the idea of him handling some on a limited basis in the future -- health permitting, of course -- has not been ruled out.

Penguins center Sidney Crosby sat out practice yesterday because he apparently was not feeling well, but there is no indication he will not be able to play against the Thrashers.

His offensive output has been a bit under the weather, too. Crosby has 10 goals and 11 assists in 22 games, which put him in a seven-way tie for 21st place in the NHL scoring race going into last night.

That's well below his usual pace, even though putting up a point-per-game is quite a feat for most players.

"I don't think I've changed a lot, to be honest," Crosby said. "You can analyze a lot of different things when you're talking about producing and points and things like that. A couple of goals here and there, and we're not even talking about it."

Forward Max Talbot made his 2009-10 debut in the Penguins' loss Thursday and came through the game with no apparent problems.

"Obviously, five months out of the game is a long time," he said. "But it felt nice to be out there and do what I could. "It would have been nice to win 6-2 and have a couple of goals, but I don't think anybody's going to remember Game No. 22 at the end of the year."

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