The Penguins are rolling into Buffalo this afternoon with a preseason roster that looks a lot closer to a real NHL lineup than a typical exhibition group - but not quite all the way there. Puck drop is set for 3:30pm, and the club will need to make one forward and one defenseman scratch before the game begins.
Up front, the group includes Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust and Nick Robertson, along with Tommy Novak, Hendrix Lapierre, Ville Koivunen, Egor Chinakhov, Bill Zonnon, Tristan Broz, Rutger McGroarty and Filip Hallander. The veteran presence is obvious, but so is the opportunity for younger players who are trying to force their way into the picture.
That’s part of the wrinkle with this one: new preseason rules limit veterans with 100-plus games to just two exhibition appearances, while teams still have to dress a certain number of veterans each night. That’s why players such as Elmer Soderblom and Connor Dewar, who are expected to be in the opening night mix, are not available for this game. Their spots have opened the door for names like McGroarty, Broz and Zonnon.
The blue line has its own intrigue. Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Sam Girard and Trevor van Riemsdyk are all in the mix, along with Kaedan Korczak, Declan Carlile and Harrison Brunicke. Brunicke’s inclusion stands out because Ilya Solovyov is not taking part, and Brunicke appears to be the seventh defenseman who will sit after warmups.
Brunicke hasn’t been making the same kind of loud camp statement he did in 2024 and 2025, when he was one of the bigger talking points around the team. Even so, he seems to be in good position.
The Penguins have a lot of right-shot defensemen, and starting him in the AHL would make sense if the goal is to get him regular minutes. Even then, he may not be there for long.
In goal, there’s no real surprise. Sergei Murashov and Arturs Silovs are the two netminders listed, and Murashov appears to have moved ahead of Joel Blomqvist in the race for an NHL roster spot. That development lines up with how the team seemed to want this to play out, putting Murashov first in line for NHL minutes this season.
There’s also an injury layer to watch. Ryan Graves and Justin Brazeau have both been off the ice lately with undisclosed injuries.
Graves, in particular, looks well outside the NHL picture right now, though the timing of the injury could potentially allow the Penguins to place him on injured reserve at the start of the season instead of exposing him to waivers again. Even so, a return to the NHL roster feels like the least likely outcome based on how his preseason has gone, from working in practices with AHL players to uneven showings in exhibition play.
In Other News...
Penguins Blue Line Suddenly Has A Roster Problem Before Opening Night
Ryan Graves lower-body injury landed at a bad time for a Penguins blue line that is already being watched closely as opening night approaches. Pittsburgh said the defenseman will undergo further evaluation, and any absence would put a little more strain on a group trying to settle into its season-opening shape before the games start to count.
For a team that values stability on defense, even a short-term setback can ripple through the rest of the roster picture. The Penguins are still in the early part of sorting out health and availability, and Graves status is now one of the cleaner examples of how quickly that process can change in the final stretch before the opener. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Camp Cuts Just Hit A Familiar Group Of Players
A preseason setback for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins did not come on the ice, but in the building. Their exhibition game against Lehigh Valley was called off because of a mechanical issue at Mohegan Arena, taking away another chance for prospects and AHL regulars to make one more impression before the season gets going.
In Pittsburgh, the roster picture also tightened as the Penguins assigned five players to the AHL during camp cuts ahead of the opener. It is the familiar part of this time of year, when hopefuls are pushed back to Wilkes-Barre and the organization starts trimming toward its opening night group, even as fans who had planned on the canceled game wait for ticket details from the team. [Read more 🡒]
Jason Robertson Just Became A Much Bigger Stars Concern
Nick Kypreos report that the Penguins could have Jason Robertson on their radar gives Pittsburgh another intriguing name to monitor as the club looks for ways to add high-end scoring. Robertson is coming off a one-year deal with Dallas, and with his future potentially headed toward free agency next July or an earlier trade if a new contract does not get done, he has quickly become one of the more interesting possible swing pieces on the market.
Pittsburghs recent pickup of his brother, Nick Robertson, only adds another layer to the situation and could make the Penguins a more natural landing spot if Jasons path changes. For a team always searching for offensive help, it is the kind of connection that can matter, but for now the bigger question is whether Dallas keeps the situation under control long enough to avoid letting it become a bigger problem. [Read more 🡒]