By Dave Molinari

Konstantin Koltsov has spent a lot of this winter in the minors and has just two points to show for the 25 games he has played in the NHL.

But when the Penguins face the New York Rangers at 7:38 p.m. today at Mellon Arena, he will be alongside Sidney Crosby and Tomas Surovy on the No. 1 line.

Penguins coach Michel Therrien plans to plug Koltsov into the opening created when Ziggy Palffy retired yesterday, primarily because he believes Koltsov's skating and the pressure he can exert in the attacking zone will be an asset for the line.

"The reason is his speed," Therrien said. "He can create some openings for Crosby and Surovy because of the way he forechecks.

"I'm going to try it for [tonight] and hopefully for the next few weeks. I'm confident that it's going to work."

Koltsov, 24, has nine goals and 22 assists in 109 career games in the NHL.