Pittsburgh Penguins Battle Log: Preseason – Game 6

The Pittsburgh Penguins reward Johnstown, Pa. tonight for winning the Kraft Hockeyville contest last season. The town of Johnstown will have the privilege of watching the Pens battle the Tampa Bay Lightning at the War Memorial.

More from Penguins News

One surprising note for tonight is the absence of Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel. They were also on the shelf for last night’s game in Quebec City. While Jim Rutherford alluded to wanting the lineup trimmed and close to opening night for tomorrow’s game at Consol Energy Center, the Pens have yet to do major cuts. It was widely assumed that Crosby and Company would play in at least one contest between last night and tonight.

The Lightning on the other hand have trimmed a lot of fat and will boast a lineup that closely resembles what they’ll dress for opening night of the regular season. More information on lineups below.

Pittsburgh Penguins Lineup and Notes

Based on the morning skate, Pittsburgh’s lines should shake out as follows…

Forwards

Sergei Plotnikov – Evgeni MalkinPatric Hornqvist
Chris KunitzMatt Cullen – Conor Sheary
Anton Zlobin – Kevin Porter – Kale Mouillierat
Josh Archibald – Tom Sestito

Defense

Olli MaattaAdam Clendening
Ian ColeBrian Dumoulin
Ben Lovejoy – Barry Goers
Steven Oleksy – Will O’Neill

Despite the lack of twelve forwards dressed, the Pens will indeed start twelve forwards and six defensemen. The lineup is a bit choppy due to players arriving late from Quebec City.

Important Notes

Brian Dumoulin will get a look with Ian Cole, which is the pair that I predict will be right behind Olli Maatta and Kris Letang when the season starts. Also, Matt Cullen should get a large amount of ice time tonight and I don’t think that’s an accident. Oskar Sundqvist is having a very good camp and could push Cullen to the wing or even send him to the press box as the Pens’ thirteenth forward.

Tampa Bay Lightning Lineup and Notes

Tampa’s lines from the morning skate are as follows…

Forwards

Jonathan DrouinSteven StamkosRyan Callahan
Ondrej PalatTyler JohnsonNikita Kucherov
Alex KillornValtteri FilppulaErik Condra
Brian BoyleVladislav NamestnikovJ.T. Brown

Important Notes

Defensive pairings weren’t made clear from the morning skate. The biggest thing that stands out is that Tampa Bay has gone through most of their roster cuts and will boast the lineup that we’ll likely see at the start of the regular season. I don’t expect Pittsburgh’s B squad will matchup well but it should be a fun one to watch.

Hockeyville Culture

I’m excited to see shots of the War Memorial tonight. Our own Dan Kingerski wrote a great piece outlining his past experiences as the play-by-play analyst for the Chiefs, which is a must read as it points out some very truthful pieces of hockey culture in Johnstown, Pa.

Despite the outcome of this preseason game, enjoy the idea of two of the most exciting teams in the NHL competing in one of the most historic rinks the U.S. has to offer.

Next: Offensive Pairs Formulate as Defense Struggles

More from Pens Labyrinth