These are difficult days for Blue Jackets goaltender Fredrik Norrena, and they don't appear to be getting easier any time soon.

In practice yesterday, Norrena saw only limited duty. Pascal Leclaire and Steve Mason got most of the work. On Saturday, when the Blue Jackets play in Atlanta, Mason will be the starter and Leclaire the backup, with Norrena a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game.

Norrena hasn't played since a loss Nov. 3 to the New York Islanders.

"We have two goaltenders, and then we have a third guy," coach Ken Hitchcock explained earlier this week before the Jackets played the Edmonton Oilers. "We really don't have a No. 3. We have two guys who are taking the net right now, and Freddy's the third guy."

Asked yesterday how he thought Norrena was feeling, general manager Scott Howson needed just one word: "Frustrated."

Norrena, normally an amiable sort, voiced that frustration when a reporter asked how he was handling a difficult time.

"I don't want to discuss anything with the media," Norrena said. "I don't need this."

Norrena apparently was upset about a Dispatch story earlier this month in which the current glut of goaltenders was compared with another one -- Marc Denis, Martin Prusek and Pascal Leclaire -- at the start of the 2005-06 season.

"You compare me to Martin Prusek? I am not Martin Prusek, OK," Norrena said. "I am not Martin Prusek. I am trying to do a good job and be a professional. That's what I'm trying to do. That's all I can do right now. And I'm not going to talk about it with the media."

Unfortunately for Norrena, the Jackets figure to carry three goaltenders for the foreseeable future.

"It could go on for another month," Hitchcock said.

The Blue Jackets were reluctant to send Mason back to minor-league Syracuse even before Leclaire gave up seven goals on 19 shots in the loss to Edmonton.

Now it's likely Mason, with a solid start Saturday, could buy himself more time with the Blue Jackets.

"We're going to continue to evaluate how Steve does, and we're going to keep making sure that we're making the right decision by Steve and by our team," Howson said. "The three-goalie system does get awkward at some point. But it's a necessity right now, as far as we're concerned."

As of yesterday, the Blue Jackets had not put Norrena on waivers. (He would have to clear to be assigned to Syracuse.) Also, they have not been asked by Norrena or his agent for the right to negotiate a contract with a club in Europe or Russia.

Norrena, who was so good playing for an injured Leclaire during the 2006-07 season, appears parked.

"The key for Freddy is being ready," said Perry Elderbroom, the Blue Jackets' acting goaltending coach, who has had a long history with Norrena. "It's making sure you're mentally ready when you get your next opportunity.

"These sort of situations pop up from time to time. He has to wait for something to change, and in the meantime, he has to stay sharp."

aportzline@dispatch.com