Preseason Gameday 3: Penguins to Dress NHL Lineup, Notes vs Red Wings

The Pittsburgh Penguins trimmed their training camp roster to 35 players on Saturday morning as the head coach Mike Sullivan funnels toward the start of the regular season against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 12. The Penguins JV squad beat the NHL-laden Buffalo Sabres roster on Friday night 2-1, and a few players earned rave reviews in the process.

However, the prospects may have had their last chance on Friday. Sullivan will dress his NHL roster, with only a few notable exceptions, on Sunday afternoon when the Penguins host the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena. The puck drop is at noon but will not be streamed or televised.

Update: The Penguins website and app will stream the game.

It’s also the annual Free Game for Kids.

Here’s the full story on the Penguins camp cuts. 

After the Pittsburgh Penguins released Matt Bartkowski from his PTO, he signed with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins later on Saturday afternoon.

Defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who played in the first two preseason games, will not dress. Instead, the Penguins will put Juuso Riikola in the lineup. It’s likely more of a showcase than an opportunity for Riikola to supplant Pettersson, who has four years remaining on his contract, which carries a $4.025 million AAV.

The other player of note who will draw into the lineup is Sam Lafferty, whom coaches shuffled to Group 2 in the split practices. Lafferty has played in 84 NHL games over the last two seasons and scored 19 points (6-13-19). He played in the first preseason game against the Columbus Blue Jackets but took two minor penalties.

Drew O’Connor, who had a strong game on Friday, will also dress.

One camp battle to note: Chad Ruhwedel will dress with the NHL squad on Sunday. Mark Friedman, the other candidate for the third-pair right-side defenseman, did not play on Friday.

The Penguins regular not in the lineup: Zach Aston-Reese remains in the NHL’s COVID protocol. Radim Zohorna and Dominik Simon also will not play Sunday.

Center Brian Boyle, who is in camp on a PTO, will get his first real test surrounded by NHL talent. New Penguins Danton Heinen and Brock McGinn will also get their first game action in a Penguins sweater.

After a stellar performance Friday, Louis Domingue will back up Tristan Jarry.

The Pittsburgh Penguins Lineup:

Forwards:

9 – Evan Rodrigues

10 – Drew O’Connor

11 – Brian Boyle

16 – Jason Zucker

17 – Bryan Rust

18 – Sam Lafferty

23 – Brock McGinn

42 – Kasperi Kapanen

43 – Danton Heinen

53 – Teddy Blueger

59 – Jake Guentzel

77 – Jeff Carter

Defensemen:

2 – Chad Ruhwedel

5 – Mike Matheson

6 – John Marino

8 – Brian Dumoulin

50 – Juuso Riikola

58 – Kris Letang

Goaltenders:

30 – Louis Domingue

35 – Tristan Jarry

The Penguins game should finish well before the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers kick off at 4:25 p.m. DraftKings is offering PHN readers a $150 payout on a $1 bet today. Our expert (and more than a darn fine baseball wrier) John Perrotto broke down the lines, the odds, predictions, and previewed of the game.