Penguins’ Lineup vs. Buffalo Thursday: 87+71+65+58 = Intrigue

It’s taken four games, but the Pittsburgh Penguins are about to unveil a preseason-game lineup similar to the one they’re expected to dress for the regular-season opener Oct. 10 against Chicago.

When Buffalo visits PPG Paints Arena Thursday at 7 p.m., the Sabres will face a team featuring the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang, among other prominent figures from the Penguins’ depth chart.

It should provide the crowd with its first look at how the Penguins’ overhauled lineup might fare during the season ahead.

The Penguins have relied largely on junior and minor-league players in their first three preseason games, during which they went 1-1-1.

But that won’t be the case against Buffalo. Here are the 23 players, from which Mike Sullivan and his staff will craft the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 20-man lineup:

FORWARDS — Noel Acciari, Jeff Carter, Sidney Crosby, Lars Eller, Evgeni Malkin, Matt Nieto, Alex Nylander, Drew O’Connor, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, Reilly Smith, Austin Wagner, Radim Zohorna.

DEFENSEMEN — Mark Friedman, Ryan Graves, P.O Joseph, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Marcus Pettersson, Chad Ruhwedel, Ryan Shea

GOALIES — Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic.