It was a little more than a year ago when the Penguins faced a similar plight: life without their top defenseman, Sergei Gonchar, who then was looking at about five months off because of shoulder surgery and now is facing six weeks off because of a broken left wrist.

Judging from the mood and team reaction after the Penguins' first Gonchar-less practice yesterday at Mellon Arena, there is less panic this time around.

It's not that Gonchar, 35, is any less valuable. He runs the Penguins' power play, logs a ton of minutes in all situations, can be counted on as a consistent 50-point man in a full season and exudes a calmness that spreads to his teammates.

"It's unfortunate that we're going to miss him for a little time, but we have guys that can step in and can kind of fill that role for a little while," said second-year defenseman Alex Goligoski, one of those who will be most responsible for filling in for Gonchar.

The Penguins' resolve this time around could be partly because Gonchar is not expected to miss nearly as much time as a year ago, when the Penguins were a mediocre 27-24-5 without him before surging into the playoffs and to the Stanley Cup.

It also could have a lot to do with the fact that the team's two young offensive defensemen, Goligoski and third-year player Kris Letang, are more prepared to fill the void, beginning tonight at home against Florida.

"It's much different. They're much more experienced," captain Sidney Crosby said. "This is something that's a challenge for them, but they're more than ready."

The Penguins were limited somewhat yesterday by the fact that veteran defenseman Jay McKee was excused from practice for family reasons. He is expected to be back for today's morning skate.

Coach Dan Bylsma said he and assistant Mike Yeo, who oversees the defense, plan on going with defensive pairings of Brooks Orpik-Goligoski, McKee-Martin Skoula and Mark Eaton-Letang, with adjustments as situations dictate.

On the first unit of the power play, it appears Goligoski will slide from the left point over to Gonchar's regular spot on the right side, and Letang will play on the left point, a spot he held last season and earlier this season.

"We run off that side a little more, but it's something we've worked on a lot and have gotten kind of comfortable with," Goligoski said of the right point. "It's a position I've played a long time [before getting to the NHL].

"I actually like playing the right side better. I just always have played it and I play right [defense] during the game, so it's kind of comfortable for me."

On the second unit, winger Ruslan Fedotenko practiced on the left point, across from Eaton. He joked that other than needing to hone his skills skating backward he can make the adjustment.

"If we have some injuries and I need to fill in there, I will be there," he said. "If not, it's not a big deal and I'll play in the regular spot [at forward]."

Letang has sought out Gonchar as a mentor, even when Gonchar was out of the lineup last season, and said he will continue to do that. But he is not worried.

"It's a tough loss," Letang said. "He's the general at the point and he's really good on the power play at setting everything up and bringing the puck up ice. We're going to make some adjustments.

"Every player brings different things on the ice, and [Gonchar] brings a lot offensively and defensively. He plays big minutes against top lines. It's going to be important for us not to get out of our game, try to play a simple and good defensive game."

The defenseman stepping up to the top six is Skoula, who signed with the club in the offseason and will make his Penguins debut tonight. He had never had a stretch of games out of the lineup like he had the first nine games of this season, having played in 724 NHL games, including at least 78 in each of his nine previous seasons.

If he was nervous, he wasn't showing it.

Asked about serving as a mentor for the younger players in Gonchar's absence, Skoula, who turns 30 Wednesday, said, "Well, I'm not that old."

Asked to name the most difficult thing he has had to learn since signing here, he said, "Probably just driving around Pittsburgh."

NOTES -- Bylsma said backup goaltender Brent Johnson will start tonight. He is 6-3-1 with a 2.42 goals-against average in 12 career starts against Florida. Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to return tomorrow against New Jersey. ... Three days after he returned to practice as he recovers from shoulder surgery, forward Max Talbot has been pulled back off the ice by Bylsma, who said Talbot took a shot to his foot.

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