Penguins in prime position whenever lockout ends

Yet the Pittsburgh Penguins star knows eventually his team will get back to work. If it's sometime later this month, the normal 82-game regular season would turn into a 48-game dash, one that would seem to favor clubs like the Penguins.

Pittsburgh did little to overhaul its roster during the offseason, believing the core that fell to Philadelphia in the opening round of last spring's playoffs remains strong enough to compete for a Stanley Cup.

Other than the addition of center Brandon Sutter — acquired in a draft day trade that sent Jordan Staal to Carolina — the Penguins believe there will be little if any "getting to know you" time whenever the puck drops.

"We can look at that as a positive for sure," Crosby said. "Guys understand their roles and what they need to do and there's trust there. Maybe with some newer guys you have to develop that a little bit more but yeah I would say it can't hurt and it certainly helps a little bit to have that familiarity there."

While some Penguins, notably reigning MVP Evgeni Malkin, travelled overseas to cash a paycheck during the lockout, Crosby has been leading a handful of teammates onto the ice for drills four days a week. Thursday he lined up alongside normal linemates Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis for a little 4-on-4, placing the puck on top of his head then dropping it to the ice for face-offs in place of a linesman.

The hour-long session didn't quite match the intensity of a game, but there are also few places in the league that have shown as much solidarity during the four-month-old lockout. The Penguins believe that can only pay off when things get going for real.

"I think that that's definitely an advantage," defenseman Ben Lovejoy said. "I think we're going to find out (when the lockout ends) which teams took it seriously the last couple months (and) who decided to go on vacation."

Something there's been very little of in Pittsburgh. Crosby has basically lost two years of his prime while dealing with concussion-like symptoms and now a work stoppage. He never really got back up to full speed last year, scoring only eight times in 29 regular-season games. He picked it up in the playoffs, notching three goals in a wild six-game series with the Flyers.