Pittsburgh Penguins Reveal Lineup for Pre-Season Game 5
This Monday the Pittsburgh Penguins (2-2) are scheduled to faceoff at 8 pm EST against the Minnsota Wild (1-2). The Penguins are currently riding a two game win streak and look to continue the impressive performances in their second to last preseason game.
Overall, the team has played remarkably well despite missing stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for every preseason game thus far. But the Pittsburgh Penguins star and captain Sidney Crosby will be returning to the ice on Monday and will look to reclaim his dominant form from last season. Crosby has missed significant time this offseason while recovering from a wrist injury and most recently the death of his beloved grandmother.
The full lineup for this upcoming game includes forwards Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis, Blake Comeau, Steve Downie, Andrew Ebbett, Craig Adams, Zach Sill, Kasperi Kapanen, Oskar Sundqvist, Patric Hornqvist and Daniel Carcillo makes his preseason debut.
Kapanen’s chance of making the Penguins opening night roster has increased dramatically with the most recent injury to forward Beau Bennett. While the injury is unfortunate it allows Kapanen to potentially play in the Pittsburgh Penguins top six this season. So far this preseason when Kapanen has had the opportunity he has impressed, only time will tell if coach Mike Johnston will give the 18 year old wing a roster spot.
On the blueline Monday will be Paul Martin, Christian Ehrhoff, Kris Letang and some young guns in Philip Samuelsson, Brian Dumoulin and Scott Harrington.
Mike Johnston is still trying to decide how to handle the plethora of young NHL ready defensemen he has at his disposal. So far it is unclear who is the frontrunner to earn a roster spot but the depth is impressive and could provide useful this year if injuries strike.
Between the pipes Monday will be Thomas Greiss and Jeff Zatkoff. Both are proven NHL backups but only one will start the season backing up starter Marc-Andre Fleury.
More than likely either Greiss or Zatkoff will play the entire game Monday with the other playing the final preseason game. The backup job is up for grabs but Greiss has looked very impressive this preseason and hopes to continue the impressive performances.