Penguins coach Dan Bylsma could not help but notice Max Talbot when the fireball of a forward reported to the Mellon Arena locker-room complex yesterday.

"He comes in the door and it could have been Game 7 against Washington [in the playoffs] the way he popped in here," Bylsma said. "I had to remind him it wasn't game day. He was excited and pumped up and ready to go."

Talbot, who had surgery on his left shoulder in June, is expected to make his season debut tonight when the Penguins open a three-game road trip at Ottawa.

There is also a good chance top defenseman Sergei Gonchar will return after missing 12 games because of a broken left wrist.

The mood was not all good, though, not for a team where nearly every bit of news the past month has come wrapped in an ace bandage.

In this season where the number of Penguins injuries is nearly keeping pace with the team's win total, Bylsma announced that another defenseman has been felled.

Jay McKee, a veteran who signed during the summer, will miss two to four weeks because of an infected finger. Through yesterday, McKee was tied for the NHL lead with 69 blocked shots and had a goal and five points in 21 games.

The lone regular on defense from the start of the season who was at practice, Mark Eaton, left early. There was no reason given, but neither was there an indication he might not play tonight.

Getting Gonchar back would be a major boost, particularly to the power play, which is 1 for 36 in the Penguins' past nine games. He said he is "very close" to returning and has just some lingering but expected discomfort in his shooting wrist.

"We will call someone up if need be," Bylsma said, but there was no indication of that as of late yesterday. Three defensemen who started the season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton minor league team already are playing: Deryk Engelland, Ben Lovejoy and Nate Guenin.

Two injured regulars on defense, Brooks Orpik (undisclosed injury, missed three games) and Kris Letang (right shoulder contusion, missed four games), returned to practice yesterday, Letang in a red, non-contact jersey, but neither is ready to play tonight. Also out is defenseman Alex Goligoski (undisclosed injury, missed one game).

It all started with Gonchar, who was hurt Oct. 20 against St. Louis.

The stream of injuries also has hit the forwards. Out are wingers Tyler Kennedy (groin, missed past six games, nine of past 10) and Chris Kunitz (undisclosed injury, missed two games). All-Star center Evgeni Malkin returned two games ago after missing seven because of a shoulder strain.

Talbot was the only injured player back in those first couple of weeks of the schedule when the line combinations and defensive pairings were stable.

Now he is returning almost 41/2 months into a projected rehabilitation time of four to six months, but he insists he is not rushing back to help bolster an ailing team that started 11-2, is 3-5 since, but remains tied for the Atlantic Division lead with 28 points.

"If I'm back, it's because I'm ready," said Talbot, who practiced at right wing with center Jordan Staal and left winger Matt Cooke.

"The shoulder seems stable. It's another thing to go out there in the action and you've got a guy like [Ottawa agitator and former Penguin Jarkko] Ruutu coming at you full speed and you've got to take a hit. It's going to be a good test. Obviously, it's going to be a little challenging, but I think mentally I'm ready."

His teammates are more than ready to welcome Talbot back.

His last time in a game, Talbot scored both goals in a Stanley Cup-clinching, 2-1 win against Detroit in Game 7 of the final June 12.

Even more than that, his teammates are eager for the return of his supercharged personality.

"It will be a lot of energy," center Sidney Crosby said. "We always know when he's around.

"It's just great when you see a guy working that hard and then get back in the lineup. It's not going to happen right away. It's going to take him a while to get his feet under him, but he'll bring that spark."

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is looking forward to resuming the pregame ritual he and Talbot have. In the team runway, just before they take the ice, they do a little mock sparring physically and verbally.

"I kind of miss that," said Fleury, who has had to loosen up alone in those seconds so far this season. "It will be good to have him around, to keep it loose.

"He's great to have around. I'm a guy that likes to be loose. It feels good to be loose on the ice. He goofs around, but, once we're on the ice, it's serious. I like having him around."

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