Another day, another prognosis for an injured Penguins player.

Defenseman Alex Goligoski will be out for an estimated two or three weeks with an undisclosed injury, coach Dan Bylsma said yesterday.

Goligoski, who went into the game last night against Anaheim ranked third on the team with 14 points, left the game Saturday against Boston late in regulation favoring his upper left leg.

He joins a long list of injured teammates -- defensemen Sergei Gonchar (wrist), Kris Letang (shoulder) and Brooks Orpik (undisclosed), and forwards Tyler Kennedy (groin), Chris Kunitz (undisclosed) and Max Talbot (shoulder).

Bylsma hinted that the Penguins might start getting players back over the next few games.

"Some guys are continuing to progress. Maybe by the weekend we're talking about some guys being through two weeks of their two to three weeks, so, hopefully, we'll get some relief soon enough," he said.

To replace Goligoski on the roster, the Penguins called up Nate Guenin from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

A stay-at-home defenseman who can kill penalties and be used in a matchup or shutdown role, Guenin, 26, last night became the third Western Pennsylvania native to play for the Penguins, joining Ryan Malone and Bill Thomas.

"It's exciting to get here, play in front of your family and friends who supported you all the way up," Guenin said.

He was born in Sewickley but grew up in Hopewell and played for the Pittsburgh Hornets before playing junior hockey in Green Bay and spending his college career at Ohio State.

Of the defensemen who were around for the Stanley Cup final in the spring, Mark Eaton is the last man standing with the Penguins for the moment.

Rob Scuderi (Los Angeles) and Hal Gill (Montreal) moved on in free agency over the summer, and Philippe Boucher retired. Gonchar, Letang, Orpik and Goligoski are out because of injury. Goligoski didn't play in the final but was on the taxi squad then and has been an integral part of this season's defensive corps.

"It's kind of crazy," Eaton said of the defensemen lost to various medical problems. "Fortunately, so far, I guess you could consider them 'little' injuries, a week or two at a time. Usually, they're spread out across the season, but this is all happening at once, and this is really something I haven't seen before."

The injury bug that has hit the Penguins seems to have reached beyond the NHL level.

On Saturday, their minor league club in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lost three players to injury in a 3-1 loss to Hershey -- Ryan Bayda, with an apparent leg injury; Keven Veilleux, with an apparent arm injury; and Aaron Boogaard with an unspecified injury.

"I think there's a black cloud over the whole organization," Guenin said. "It's part of the game, and sometimes when it rains, it pours."

Ducks defenseman Ryan Whitney got the experience of playing against his former club when the Penguins won, 4-3, Nov. 3 in Anaheim. Last night, he returned to Mellon Arena for the first and probably last time.

"It's a little weird, but at the same time it's always cool to come back and see some of the guys," said Whitney, who was traded to Anaheim in February.

The Ducks arrived in Pittsburgh late Saturday night, and he played tour guide for some of his new teammates Sunday.

"A bunch of us went over and saw the Steelers game," Whitney said. "We couldn't make the whole game, but it was good. Some of the guys wanted to see the stadium. Tough game, but it was still a good experience for a lot of guys who hadn't been there."

Whitney had one goal, nine points and a plus-minus rating of plus-4 in 18 games going into last night. He also had 26 shots, something Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle centered on when asked about Whitney.

"He's an offensive defenseman," Carlyle said. "He hasn't shot the puck enough for us."

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