Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings
7:30 p.m. Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI
TV: Root Sports Pittsburgh and NHL Network
Radio: 105.9 the X and the Penguins Radio Network
Projected Penguins Lineup:
14 Chris Kunitz 87 Sidney Crosby 72 Patric Hornqvist
9 Pascal Dupuis 16 Brandon Sutter 23 Steve Downie
13 Nick Spaling 57 Marcel Goc 17 Blake Comeau
12 Daniel Carcillo 49 Oskar Sundqvist 27 Craig Adams
10 Christian Ehrhoff 58 Kris Letang 29 Marc-Andre Fleury
6 Scott Harrington 7 Paul Martin 1 Thomas Greiss
4 Rob Scuderi 47 Simon Despres
Sidney Crosby will make his 2014-15 debut tonight as the Penguins travel to Detroit to take on the Red Wings. The Pens (2-3) lost to Detroit at home on September 22, and a win would bring their preseason record to an even 3-3.
Crosby, who has been rehabbing a wrist injury that set him back at the end of last season, will center the top line along with longtime left-winger Chris Kunitz and a new face on his right-hand side, Patric Hornqvist.
“Originally, I talked about putting Hornqvist with Malkin, but Malkin’s not In the lineup right now, so we want to try him with Crosby and just see how that looks,” said coach Mike Johnston to reporters of his decision to change up the Penguins’ first line.
Hornqvist playing on the first line probably says more about Evgeni Malkin’s readiness that anything else. It looks like Pascal Dupuis, Brandon Sutter, and Steve Downie will round out the top six for the start of the regular season. There’s also a possibility that Kasperi Kapanen could grab a spot for a nine-game tryout, but he will not be dressing this evening.
Rookie center Oskar Sundqvist is getting yet another look in the fourth-line center role, dressing over Zach Sill and Andrew Ebbett. The 20-year old Swede is a former third-round draft pick, but was considered to a long shot to make the team.
Daniel Carcillo will have his last chance to earn a contract tonight. He drew a penalty and was a minus-1 in 12:53 of ice time during his preseason debut Monday against Monday. He gets the nod tonight ahead of Bobby Farnham, who was praised by Johnston for his effort in the Penguins first tilt against the Red Wings, but has accumulated six penalty minutes to go along with his five hits over two games.
On defense, Christian Ehrhoff and Kris Letang seem to have cemented their status as the top defensive pairing. They’ll play together again tonight after getting nearly 25 minutes of ice time on Monday.
Scott Harrington will audition for the spot vacated by the injured Robert Bortuzzo. Between him, Brian Dumoulin, and Taylor Chorney, two players will probably make the opening-night roster as Olli Maata has yet to be cleared to play after offseason shoulder surgery.
