The Pens visiting Metropolitan Division rival Columbus tonight. The Pens ruled the season series against their newest rivals last season, but the Jackets have upgraded in many aspects and will be a force in the division again.
With that being said, here is your gameday update for everything you need to know around the Penguins.
Tonight's Rosters
The Penguins will throw out their other group tonight. Those who faced Detroit last night will not be on the ice tonight. Here is the roster for tonight: Goalies: 1 - Thomas Greiss 37 - Jeff Zatkoff Defensemen: 6 - Scott Harrington 8 - Brian Dumoulin 10 - Christian Ehrhoff 52 - Harrison Ruopp 55 - Philip Samuelsson 58 - kris Letang 65 - Alex Boak Forwards: 23 - Steve Downie 25 - Andrew Ebbett 27 - Craig Adams 32 - Pierre-Luck Leblond 36 - Bryan Rust 38 - Zach Sill 42 - Kasperi Kapanen 45 - Adam Payerl 46 - Dominik Uher 53 - Tom Kostopoulos 54 - Tom Kuhnhackl 57 - Marcel Goc 63 - Conor Sheary | The Columbus roster for tonight: Forwards: Anderson, Anisimov, Atkinson, Bjorkstrand, Chaput, Collins, Dubinsky, Gibbons, Hartnell, Rychel, Tropp, Tynan Defensemen: Goloubef, Johnson, Madaisky, Tyutin, Weber, Wisniewski Goalies: Bobrovsky, Dansk |
Team Updates
- Sidney Crosby returned to full practice Tuesday. He skated with the group who played last night's game. He participated in every drill and it is possible that he could be ready for game action this weekend.
- Chris Kunitz, who has missed practice the last few days, skated this morning with the other injured players and then participated in a two-hour practice session this afternoon. The nature of the injury hasn't been disclosed, but Kunitz stated "it had been tight from the day before and never loosened up." My guess is it is some sort of lower-body muscle pull, but what do I know, I am not a doctor.
- Evgeni Malkin, once again, DID NOT skate.
- Thomas Greiss will start in net tonight and play the entire game. Zatkoff will back up. Coach Johnston stated that both Greiss and Zatkoff will get full games to determine who will back up Marc-Andre Fleury.
- Dan Carcillo, Nick Drazenovic and Derrick Pouliot all skated this morning with strength coach Mike Kadar.
- Thomas Greiss, Christian Ehrhoff and Steve Downie will make their Penguins debut.
- 2014 1st Rounder Kasperi Kapanen will make his NHL debut tonight.
Prospects to Watch Tonight
1. Kasperi Kapanen (F): I am very excited to see him play. I think he can still make the team if he has a stellar camp. I don't know who he will skate with tonight, but he should be fun to watch.
2. Scott Harrington (D): Harrington has really impressed the last few months. Many feel he is NHL ready and I would be apt to agree. Expect him to see substantial ice time tonight and time on the PK as well.
3. Adam Payerl (F): There was a lot of great things being said about this kid after rookie camp over the summer. He is a grinder and enforcer, but has some offensive capabilities as well. He should be fun to watch tonight at both ends of the ice.
Info for Tonight's Game
- Puck drop is at 7:00pm from Columbus.
- The game is not televised in the Pittsburgh market, however, you can stream the game from the Blue Jackets website with this link: http://bluejackets.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=731370
- The game can also be caught on the Pens App or online at Penguins Radio Network.