Courtesy of Point Park University

Crosby to make preseason debut Wednesday

[get_snippet]

To continue reading, log into your account:

[theme-my-login show_title=0]
Sidney Crosby. -- MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Sidney Crosby will be in the lineup for Wednesday night's preseason game against the Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena.

That shouldn't be much of a surprise, the Penguins always try to manage Crosby's workload this time of year. In each of the past two seasons he only played three preseason games.

"I usually play three games, I'll probably end up playing two," Crosby said of the preseason. "It's not that big of a difference."

Crosby has missed one practice this camp, on Sept. 21, although he skated on his own prior to practice that day. Despite Mike Sullivan saying that there wasn't an injury being managed, and the fact that Crosby was a full participant in the two practices since Sept. 21, some fans were still concerned about Crosby's status.

There is nothing to worry about.

"There's not much to get into," Crosby said. "I think it's just trying to manage the time that we have. Camp is pretty intense, especially the first few days. After that, I think just trying to make the most of the time we have between these exhibition games."

On days which Crosby gets as rest days, he said, "ultimately that's up to the coaches." He's still the guy who doesn't miss an optional skate as long as he's able to be out there.

"I still go on for the optional," he said. "I don't know if that's ever going to change. But you try to manage it a little bit better, and I think that's just part of the process and learning."

Crosby has spent the last several practices centering a line of Jake Guentzel and Brandon Tanev. When Tanev played alongside Evgeni Malkin in camp, Malkin called Tanev "probably one of the fastest guys in the NHL." Now that Crosby has played with Tanev, he's seeing much of the same.

"Speed. That's the biggest thing," Crosby said of Tanev's game. "He creates so much, whether its off the forecheck or offensively with the puck, taking pucks to the net, drawing guys to him. He wins a lot of battles. He's a tough guy to play against."

Of all the linemates Crosby has had in recent years, Tanev can potentially contribute to the line much of what Patric Hornqvist used to bring.

"I think as a line, regardless of whether its Horny or Tanev, I think we just want to be aggressive, we want to force teams to make mistakes, and use our speed and instincts to do that. Just be strong on pucks and be tough to play against and let the rest take care of itself. It starts with the way we force turnovers and create from there."

At the end of Crosby's availability, he was asked about the importance of having a strong start to the season for the city, given the way the Pirates and Steelers have been "struggling," to put it mildly. Crosby was amused by the question.

"Oh jeez, wait, I hope they don't take that out on us," he laughed. "Well, I think it's definitely important (to have a good start). Every team will tell you, it doesn't matter what sport, you want to start well. It doesn't always happen, but you try to prepare to be able to do that. I think for us that's why camp is so important — you make sure you're focused on those little details so you do start well. It doesn't guarantee anything, but that's what you're trying to do."

MORE FROM PRACTICE

• Zach Trotman (sports hernia surgery), Adam Johnson (lower-body) and John Marino (lower-body) are all injured. More on that here.

• The Penguins promoted Kevin Stevens and made other changes to the hockey operations staff. More on that here.

• Forwards Andrew Agozzino, Joseph Blandisi, Joseph Cramarossa, Thomas Di Pauli, and Ryan Haggerty, and defensemen Kevin Czuczman and David Warsofsky all cleared waivers and were in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for Tuesday's start of training camp. No Penguins were placed on waivers on Tuesday.

• The only cut from training camp on Tuesday was Kris Letang's beard. Yes, he shaved.

• The Penguins used the following lines and pairings:

Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Brandon Tanev
Alex Galchenyuk - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Jared McCann - Nick Bjugstad - Patric Hornqvist
Dominik Simon/Zach Aston-Reese - Teddy Blueger - Dominik Kahun

Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Justin Schultz
Juuso Riikola - Erik Gudbranson
Jack Johnson - Chad Ruhwedel

• The notable change up there is that Jack Johnson and Erik Gudbranson have been separated. When asked if Juuso Riikola and Johnson are in competition for the final spot on the left side of the third pairing, Sullivan said that wasn't the case.

"I wouldn't suggest that," he said. "Everybody's in competition. All the guys that are here are in competition for positions. It's not about one guy versus another guy."

• The Penguins alternated between the two units they've been using for the first power play: Letang, Crosby, Malkin, and Guentzel, with either Justin Schultz or Alex Galchenyuk occupying the final spot.

• The Penguins rotated penalty killing units, and combinations included Gudbranson, Brian Dumoulin, Teddy Blueger, Zach Aston-Reese, as well as Chad Ruhwedel, Johnson, Bryan Rust, Tanev, and Dominik Simon, Blueger, Dumoulin, Gudbranson.

• This happened:

To continue reading, log into your account: