The Penguins don't feature a top-10 scorer despite employing skilled stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Haven't got a hot-shot rookie. Don't have one of the NHL's top-10 power plays. Haven't gotten a shutout victory, even though goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been stellar almost everygame.

What they do have is a 9-2 record, giving them the most wins in the NHL.

Something must be going right.

"It hasn't been the power play, the top line or just our goalie," coach Dan Bylsma said after practice yesterday at Mellon Arena.

"It's been a team effort in a lot of areas, a lot of players doing their job. Not our team playing great in every aspect or any aspect, but a lot of people doing their jobs, adding their part, and as a result we've put ourselves in a situation to win some hockey games."

The Penguins, who play Montreal tomorrow night at home, can point to several categories to help explain their blazing start.

Some can be found in the statistics logged by the league, just not necessarily the sexier ones such as goals and assists.

Going into games last night, defenseman Jay McKee ranked first in the NHL with 36 blocked shots; defenseman Mark Eaton tied for 21st with 21. Malkin was tied for third with 12 takeaways. Winger Matt Cooke was fifth with 36 hits, defenseman Brooks Orpik tied for 11th with 32 and winger Chris Kunitz tied for 22nd with 28. Defenseman Alex Goligoski was tied for third with a plus-minus rating of plus-9, McKee tied for 13th at plus-7 and Crosby tied for 18th at plus-6. And Crosby was eighth with a faceoff proficiency of 59.8 percent.

"You talk about it being the attention to detail and doing the little things that all add up to being successful," Eaton said. "Those are just a few of the little things that help make a team a winning team.

"If guys are at the top of the, quote-unquote, little stats, then chances are the team itself is doing pretty well."

It's a formula that's working for the Penguins, who could also be expected to have a few players flirt with league titles in the bigger categories before the season is finished.

Bylsma recently commended his team privately for being well-represented in the blocked shots statistical rankings. McKee wasn't surprised by that, but he had not been monitoring that category.

"It's nice that it gets recognized," McKee said. "It's not as valuable as scoring goals and some of the other important stuff, but it's all the small things that build up and help out."

Others might beg to differ that the statistics piled up by role players are less important.

Blocked shots break up scoring chances by the opposition. Winning a faceoff can be crucial depending on the game situation and the spot of the draw. A takeaway can lead almost directly to a goal but might not result in a point for the player who wrested away the puck.

"When you start out well like we did, you're going to see that," Crosby said of the players who are showing up high in a diverse selection of statistical categories.

"Everyone's contributing, and that's why we're winning and our numbers are up."

A good play doesn't always show up in any easily quantifiable way.

"You always hear the term 'intangibles' thrown out there, that you can't put a stat to," Eaton said. "A lot of that is leadership qualities and things that don't show up on stat sheets -- a player knowing his job and doing it to perfection."

Sometimes, it's the well-executed routine plays that teammates appreciate.

"It's a small thing that really goes unnoticed, and it doesn't sound like much, but our wingers are great at getting the puck out on the wall and not turning it over," McKee said. "Small things like that, this team I've noticed is really good at. Guys take a lot of pride in getting their job done and not turning pucks over. Everything adds up to 9-2 by all the small things and the big things like Sid or [Malkin] stepping up."

NOTES -- Wingers Tyler Kennedy and Chris Kunitz did not practice because of "maintenance days," and winger Pascal Dupuis was out sick, Bylsma said. ... Following a Halloween party the night before at a local dueling piano bar, the players arrived at the arena in costume. At the beginning of practice, winger Eric Godard wore a large blue mascot-type head. At the end of the session, Fleury wore the mask from his Kermit the Frog costume over his helmet. McKee, as Batman's nemesis The Joker, won best costume. He said he ordered and applied the makeup himself.

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