PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins accomplished in three hours what it took them more than three weeks to achieve last year — win a game.

The Penguins are ready to put their disastrous 2005-06 campaign in the past and are off to a quick start in their attempt to improve on last year's record, which was the worst in the Eastern Conference.

Pittsburgh had to be encouraged by its strong performance in Thursday's 4-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

"Last year's not even part of the question, really," star center Sidney Crosby said after practice Friday. "It's nice to get off to that start, but it doesn't make it any sweeter because of what happened last year. We got this win in the books, but we can't spend the first 10 games comparing it to last year."

Expectations were high for Pittsburgh when it entered last year's post-lockout season with the addition of No. 1 overall draft pick Crosby and a handful of big-name veteran free-agent additions.

But those expectations quickly collapsed into a 22-46-14 record that was second-worst in the NHL.

New general manager Ray Shero has taken a more patient approach with his composition of the roster. Three teenagers played opening night — Crosby, 2005 second-round pick Kristopher Letang and 2006 second-overall pick Jordan Staal. And, the team has elected to build for the long term around the high draft picks it has accumulated after poor finishes since the trade Jaromir Jagr in 2001.

The early returns were strong, as the Penguins played a complete game Thursday. Pittsburgh got a goal from Crosby and offense from unexpected sources like Jarkko Ruutu and Josef Melichar. The teenagers, rookies and free-agent acquisitions all played well, the penalty killing unit was 9-for-9 and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 40 shots by the Flyers.

"We all believed in him and we're happy for him," Crosby said. "Hopefully, he proved some people who didn't believe in him wrong ... I think that was a good confidence booster, for sure."

Fleury was taken No. 1 overall in the 2003 draft and has shown flashes of talent in the 71 games he has played with Pittsburgh. But he has also been inconsistent and, after a poor preseason, speculation had Fleury being demoted to the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre.

"A week ago, in the papers and on the TV, it didn't sound like (people had confidence in me)," Fleury said. "But I just didn't read about it and kept my mind on doing what I was doing."

Staal, who might be with Pittsburgh until Russian phenom Evgeni Malkin returns from a shoulder injury, took a regular shift as the fourth-line center and on the penalty-killing unit. Despite being less than a month removed from his 18th birthday, the younger brother of Carolina Hurricanes' star Eric Staal appeared to skate well, had some scoring chances and displayed nifty stickhandling.

"I think I kind of adapted pretty well," Staal said. "I felt pretty good adjusting-wise and speed-wise. I didn't really feel out of place."

Notes: Malkin practiced Friday for the first time since dislocating his shoulder in a preseason game more than two weeks ago. Malkin was on the ice with his teammates and took part in some drills, but often was working on stickhandling or stretching exercises by himself. Team officials said Malkin will continue the rehabilitation program for his shoulder and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.