Tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena, for their second to last preseason game.
The Penguins are playing their “B” lineup for the final time, as they will use this as the final opportunity to see who will grab a spot with the main roster for opening night. Columbus will be using a more NHL heavy roster, with most of their NHL players in the lineup.
Columbus is currently 4-2 so far this preseason, while the Penguins are currently 2-3. Although these records don’t mean anything, it’s helpful to show how each team is starting off, regular season or not.
Penguins Roster
Forwards: Rutger McGoarty, Corey Andonovski, Kevin Hayes, Boko Imama, Joona Koppanen, Jesse Puljujarvi, Sam Poulin, Tristan Broz, Ville Koivunen, Jonathan Gruden, Valtteri Puustinen, Emil Bemstrom
Defense: Nathan Clurman, Ryan Shea, John Ludvig, Sebastian Aho, Owen Pickering, Harrison Brunicke, Filip Kral
Goalies: Filip Larsson, Tristan Jarry
Blue Jackets Roster
Forwards: Cole Sillinger, Sean Kuraly, Dmitri Voronkov, Adam Fantilli, James van Riemsdyk, Sean Monahan, Mathieu Olivier, Boone Jenner, Yegor Chinakhov, Mikael Pyyhtia, Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson
Defense: Jake Christiansen, Jack Johnson, Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, David Jiricek, Damon Severson
Goalies: Daniil Tarasov, Elvis Merzlikins
One player to watch tonight is Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Harrison Brunicke. The 44th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft has proven to be way ahead of schedule in development. So far in the preseason, he has looked very comfortable with the puck. He has been fantastic in terms of playmaking and hockey IQ. He also has some elite skating and has gotten better each game he has played so far in camp.
The game is available to watch on SportsNet Pittsburgh, and available to listen on 105.9 the X.
ITR 31: Let Them Fight – Inside The Rink
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