"Penguins coach Dan Bylsma isn't ready to declare the competition closed.

He won't proclaim that Chris Kunitz has won the battle for a place on the No. 1 power-play because of the net-front presence he has been providing.

But it's no coincidence that the power play has been most effective when Kunitz has been working in and around the other team's crease.

That point was reinforced on the Penguins' fourth goal of their 5-1 victory in Philadelphia Saturday night, when Kunitz was stationed directly in front of Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky as a Sidney Crosby slap shot from the top of the slot was beating him low on the right side.

"We think it's imperative that we have a guy there," Bylsma said. "It was a challenge for the handful of guys to see who would earn that spot and get that time, and there's no question right now that [Kunitz] is the guy who's standing there.

"He's taken some shots and he's got some bruises, but that's been a big part, especially of [Saturday night's] success."

Ottawa winger Alex Kovalev, the former Penguin who is one of the great pure talents in recent NHL history, does not have a point in his first five games this season, despite averaging nearly 15 1/2 minutes of ice time per game.

Although Kovalev, 37, no longer is the force he once was and acknowledged being concerned about his lack of production so far, he isn't ready to panic over his early season struggles, either."