As far as preseason games go tonight’s game is about as must see as you can get. In years past the Penguins would usually scatter their star players across different games. Tonight, all the studs are going to be in the lineup and that includes Erik Karlsson’s debut. This lineup is pretty close to what an opening night lineup will look like
You’ve got what is likely to be your opening night top six with Alex Nylander being a placeholder until Jake Guentzel is back from injury. You have what looks to be the opening night defense pairings. You have both Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic in the lineup as well.
The lines from practice yesterday
The Sabres don’t appear to be going all in with their lineup. Recent star Tage Thompson is playing which should be entertaining. He doesn’t seem to have a lot of veteran backup. The Sabres are playing some of their notable prospects like Zach Benson, Juri Kulich, Isak Rosen, JJ Peterka, and Ryan Johnson.
If nothing else, tonight’s game will be the first ever game we see Erik Karlsson in a proper Pittsburgh Penguins uniform. It is one of those things where we all know he’s a Penguin, but it doesn’t quite hit until you see it with your own eyes. Even if it is only a preseason game it will still be amazing to see him working with Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Kris Letang. This is incredibly cool.
Preseason hockey is what it is. Tonight’s game is about as interesting as they get. Enjoy
Thanks for reading!