PENGUINS Aubin hoping to stay

Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin is playing behind Sebastien Caron.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin is back with the Pittsburgh Penguins -- again. Just like every other time he's been with them, he wonders how long this stay will last.
And there's always the question if this is the last chance for a goalie who has belonged to the Penguins since 1995 but rarely seems to be in their plans.
Aubin, who has twice gone on waivers without being claimed, came in third in a training camp battle with Sebastien Caron and No. 1 pick Marc-Andre Fleury and has spent most of the season with the Penguins' top farm club.
Now, with Fleury playing for the Canadian junior national team through early next month, Aubin has returned to Pittsburgh. He started for the Penguins for much of the 2000-01 season before they traded for Johan Hedberg, a move that sent Aubin to the bench for the playoffs. Hedberg has since been traded to Vancouver, but Aubin is being overshadowed now by Caron and Fleury.
"Right now, it's just a good chance if I play to show what I can do," Aubin said Wednesday.
At Carolina tonight
First, he has to get on the ice. Caron has won his last two starts and will be in goal when the Penguins play at Carolina tonight. The only action Aubin has seen since being recalled last week is just over 30 minutes of mop-up duty in a 6-3 loss at Atlanta on Friday.
"I think, when he gets his opportunity, he has to take advantage of it," coach Eddie Olczyk said. "I don't know about a last chance or anything like that. Caron has played really well, even in that game he struggled a little bit in Atlanta. But he bounced back and that's the sign of a maturing pro."
Since losing his starting job to Hedberg nearly three years ago, the 26-year-old Aubin is 9-25-1 during several stays with Pittsburgh, dropping his career mark to 56-63-11. He was 3-12-1 with a 3.56 goals-against average in 2001-02 and 6-13-0 with a 3.13 goals-against average last season.
It appeared that Aubin might rejuvenate his career when he went 8-6-1 with a 1.89 goals-against average in 16 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) late last season and 3-3 in the Calder Cup playoffs. But the Penguins drafted Fleury and gave Caron a $3.2 million, four-year contract, moves that pushed Aubin back to the minors.
That's why Aubin realizes that every minute he's on the ice now could be important toward shaping the rest of his career.
"It's been tough, but I'm sure it happens to a lot of guys, so I just have to keep working hard," Aubin said. "The good thing is that I'm still here when I could be somewhere else. I don't know when I'm going to play, but when I do I've got to put everything together to have a good game."