Both of Pennsylvania and Western New York’s NHL teams have their rosters locked in, and puck drop is close. The Penguins open first — Wednesday night at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Eastern. Pittsburgh’s roster leans on the familiar faces up top, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin still centering the attack, but they’ll be without four forwards to start the year — Justin Brazeau, Ben Kindel, Blake Lizotte and Bryan Rust — plus defenseman Ryan Graves, out indefinitely.
The Sabres follow two days later, Thursday at Columbus, also 7 p.m. Eastern. Buffalo kept Justin Danforth on the roster after that camp battle, and goes three-deep in net with Luukkonen, Lyon and Ellis — though both top goalies are still working through preseason injuries, so who starts Thursday is still unsettled. On the blue line, Mattias Samuelsson and Conor Timmins are out, but coach Lindy Ruff says he expects Olen Zellweger back from concussion protocol in time for the opener.
Comments