Defenseman Jay McKee missed his sixth game in a row last night when the Penguins played the New York Rangers at Mellon Arena.

The bandwagon has shifted in favor of injured players returning, though, and McKee is hoping be in the lineup tomorrow night in a rematch with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

"If the next couple practices go well and there's no setbacks, I'm optimistic that the next game I'll be able to play," said McKee, who has recovered faster from an infection in his left hand than the original timetable of two to four weeks.

McKee revealed that when the problem caused his hand to swell to twice its normal size, he spent a night in a hospital to receive antibiotics. A procedure in which a couple of incisions in the hand also relieved pressure.

He said the problem was caused by a cut that could not heal properly because it was in the crease between his fingers. He said the stiffness and soreness have subsided.

"When the doctors said originally two to four weeks, you think the worst at first, and it's pretty frustrating," McKee said, "but it's been about 10 days; it feels real good."

After more than a month of having players exit the lineup regularly, the Penguins are nearly healthy.

Defensemen Alex Goligoski and Kris Letang and right winger Tyler Kennedy returned last night, leaving McKee and winger Chris Kunitz the only players still out.

Goligoski had missed six games because of an undisclosed problem, Letang nine games because of a right shoulder contusion and Kennedy 14 of the past 15 because of a groin injury.

Last night marked two weeks since Kunitz missed his first game with an undisclosed injury that initially was supposed to sideline him two weeks.

Coach Dan Bylsma said Goligoski and Letang were considered for the lineup Friday when the team lost, 3-2, on the road against the New York Islanders.

"We had three games in four nights," Bylsma said. "With that many games and coming back from injury, this was the best for both guys to make sure they got not too much work."

It couldn't come soon enough for the players.

"It feels good to be back with the team," Goligoski said.

"It's been a while," Letang said. "You always want a healthy team. You try to build a good team, and, when you're missing players, it's always tough to build."

Nine players have been out this season, all for multiple games, and the Penguins have lost 101 man-games going into tomorrow night.

To make room for Goligoski and Letang, the Penguins returned defensemen Deryk Engelland and Ben Lovejoy to their Wilkes-Barre/Scranton farm club. Winger Chris Bourque became their first healthy scratch in weeks.

When Penguins captain Sidney Crosby arrived at Mellon Arena yesterday morning, he learned it was Marc-Andre Fleury's birthday. He asked the goaltender how old he was.

"He said 25," Crosby, 22, said. "I said, 'Geez, time flies.'"

Fleury, the first overall draft pick in 2003, is in his seventh season with the organization, yet he is still young for an established No. 1 NHL goaltender, especially one who has won a Stanley Cup.

The Penguins held an optional morning skate, with 16 players on the ice. The Rangers, coming off a 5-1 loss Friday night at Tampa Bay, did not have one. ... New York scratched defenseman Wade Redden and center Brian Boyle.

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