For the first time this fall the Penguins roster will look like their actual roster, or at least very close to it. They aren’t resting too many of their players tonight. It appears Justin Schultz is going to be the only regular not playing. Here are the lines and pairings
It shouldn’t need to be said, but here it is anyways. These lines aren’t set in stone. Queue the whining about Daniel Sprong playing fourth line minutes. The reality is that he should have been doing that last year. The fourth line was an abomination and embarrassing to watch. I don’t believe that the AHL was a necessary step in his development last year. He could have played 8-10 minutes of 5v5 and been on the left circle on the second power play.
If Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel are going to play together I think you’ll see Bryan Rust on the left side of the Brassard line and Sprong eventually taking that third line right wing spot assuming Hornqvist plays with Sidney Crosby.
It will be interesting to see if Jack Johnson and Olli Maatta are a thing heading into the season. Maatta had a better year last year compared to his most recent years, but I don’t know if he will again if he’s on a second pairing with Johnson. That’s a lot to ask of a player who isn’t exactly fleet of foot.
The real season finally begins in a week and for the first time in a while it might be interesting to watch the team tonight.
Thanks for reading!