PITTSBURGH – When the Pittsburgh Penguins have a hot hand, it’s usually a scorer such as Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr or Alexei Kovalev. This time, it’s a goaltender – and they’re not about gamble he might cool off by making a change.

So coach Ivan Hlinka, who was dropping hints that Garth Snow would soon return from a seven-week injury layoff, said Wednesday that rookie goalie Johan Hedberg will start Thursday against Chicago.

With only six games left before the playoffs – or one more game than Hedberg has played in his brief NHL career – the Penguins were expected to give Snow most of the starts down the stretch.

However, Hlinka apparently changed his mind after Hedberg improved to 3-1-1 by allowing one goal in 19 shots as the Penguins again employed the left wing lock in beating Buffalo 4-1 Tuesday.

Several Penguins gave Hedberg strong reviews – including an influential player-owner named Lemieux – and it appears Hedberg is quickly gaining their confidence.

“It’s important for us to find the right goalie, (one) we can have confidence in during the playoffs. He looks like he could be that guy,” Lemieux said.

It hasn’t hurt that in his last two starts, Hedberg has led the Penguins to victories over two teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference standings, New Jersey and Buffalo.

Snow, who hasn’t played since Feb. 7 because of a strained groin, seemed disappointed he won’t start Thursday but understands why a team would stay with someone playing well.

“I feel fine, I feel good, I’m ready to play,” Snow said. “I don’t feel any pain at all. I’ve been practicing two weeks now to get the feel of the puck again. … But he (Hedberg) has stepped in and done a great job.”