Asked if he felt like a lightning rod for criticism in the seven weeks since he returned from foot surgery, Ryan Whitney repeated the question and looked away.

"I really don't care," the Penguins' defenseman said yesterday after practice at Southpointe. "We have good fans, and they have a right to say whatever they want.

"All I know is, I can look in the mirror and know I'm trying my hardest. It's not for lack of effort if I'm not playing well, but I came back at a time of the year when the team wasn't playing well. I'm working hard, our team's playing better and I feel like I'm getting in a groove."

Whitney played perhaps his most solid game of the season Wednesday in the Penguins' inspiring, 2-1 shootout win against Western Conference leader San Jose.

Going into the game tonight at Toronto, Whitney has a goal and 10 assists in 23 games since he joined the lineup soon after the Penguins began to slip in the standings.

While his transition game and breakout passes -- his forte -- have resurfaced, Whitney has struggled defensively. His plus-minus rating of minus-12 is tied with forward Max Talbot for the team worst.

"It's never easy for any player to come back from a long time [out] like this," coach Michel Therrien said. "He's coming along. The last few games, he played with more emotion and more intensity. He's got the skills. He's got everything we're looking for. He's got to make sure he maintains that emotion."

Whitney, scheduled to play in his 250th career game Monday afternoon against the Islanders in New York, understands the expectations that developed before he came back from the summer surgery and the disappointment some might feel because his return did not provide an instant spark. In fact, soon after he returned, the Penguins lost five games in a row and seven of eight.

"I make a lot of money, and, if I haven't played the way they feel I can play, that's up to them to feel that way," said Whitney, the fifth overall pick in the 2002 draft who signed a six-year, $24 million contract before the 2007-08 season.

The loss of Whitney, who had an alignment problem corrected in his foot, and top defenseman Sergei Gonchar, whose season debut seems imminent after October shoulder surgery, was a double whammy for the Penguins.

"I think [Whitney has] felt a little bit of pressure on him, where people thought -- just like they think about [Gonchar] now -- that this guy is going to automatically get right back to where he was," said Brooks Orpik, Whitney's defense partner lately.

"I missed three games with a groin injury a couple weeks ago, and just missing three games was tough because the speed of the game is something you can't simulate in practice.

"I think his offensive game, his transition passing, his vision, are his biggest assets. As long as that's there, if he just focuses on playing solid defensively, I think everything else comes naturally to him. The biggest thing for him is to channel himself and not listen to what other people are saying. As easy as that might sound, it's hard."

Whitney predicts Gonchar won't face as much flak.

"With [Gonchar], it's different," he said. "I'm not as good as [Gonchar]. It's pretty easy to say. He's going to come back and be himself. He's one of the top two or three guys in the league on the power play. That's not the case with me."

Whitney remembers how impatient fans were when Gonchar got off slow starts for a couple seasons.

"He's been through it before here," Whitney said. "He's gotten booed every time he touched the puck here, and that's unfortunate because he's an unbelievable player. I don't think that will be the case now. He looks unbelievable out there [in practice]. He'll do great."

Whitney said he has good weeks and bad weeks with his foot. Much of the pain is gone, but it remains weak and he has learned new posture and balance. He was so limited last season that he tailed off from 59 points in 2006-07, his first full NHL season, to 40.

He figures it will be months before the foot is 100 percent.

"I don't really know what that feels like; it's been so long," Whitney said. "I'm trying to be patient with it."

Even if those outside the team are having a difficult time doing that.

"I'm working as hard as I can. I really don't feel bad if feel people want to say things. That's their opinion," Whitney said. "If I have a good last 25 games, I'll be real happy with myself."