---

Tangradi to Debut on Crosby’s Wing in Tonight’s Pre-Season Opener

Just a little over 3 months after winning the Stanley Cup in Detroit, the Pittsburgh Penguins return to the ice tonight for the pre-season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Mellon Arena.  The game comes after just a couple days of training camp practice, being accelerated to accomodate the upcoming G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh.  This morning the Pittsburgh Penguins released the lineup for tonight’s game.  Despite expectations that the Penguins would rest its stars, the lineup will include players such as Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Sergei Gonchar, and others.  Most notable, the Penguins will put their top prospect, 6’4″ 20-year old winger Eric Tangradi, out on the top line with Sidney Crosby.  While only a pre-season game, it will give the youngster a huge opportunity to show his skills and fight for a permanent spot  on the Penguins’ roster.

The Penguins have reported the following lineup and line combinations for tonight’s game:

Forwards:

• Chris Kunitz, Sidney Crosby, Eric Tangradi
• Pascal Dupuis, Jordan Staal, Ruslan Fedotenko
• Chris Connor, Dustin Jeffrey, Ryan Bayda
• Zack Sill, Joe Vitale, Eric Godard

Defensemen:

• Simon Despres, Sergei Gonchar
• Mark Eaton, Deryk Engelland
• Jay McKee, Robert Bortuzzo

Goaltenders:

• Marc-Andre Fleury
• Brad Thiessen

Game time is 7:30PM.  The game is not expected to be broadcast.

TK on Malkin’s Wing for Day 1 of Practice

On-ice practice began this morning at Mellon Arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins 2009/10 Training Camp.  The most notable news from today is that Tyler Kennedy was the first player to be paired up with Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko.  I am sure that this is just one of many pairings that will be evaluated on that line over the next few weeks after the departure of Petr Sykora/Miroslav Satan and the absence of Max Talbot while he is recovering from off-season surgery.  Coach Dan Bylsma noted that he is looking for a tenacious player that can add a “forechecking and puck-pursuit presence” to the Malkin line.  Based on what we saw from Tyler Kennedy last season, he would seem to be a natural fit.  He certainly brought those skills to the Staal line last season, where his development was quite noteworthy.  Pascal Dupuis back-filled Kennedy’s normal spot on the Staal line.

New acquisition Mike Rupp played on a potential fourth line with Craig Adams and Eric Godard.  Eric Tangradi played on a line with Wyatt Smith and Chris Connor, while Luca Caputi was on a line with Mark Letestu and Nick Johnson.  Free Agent Left Wing Ryan Bayda (formerly of the Carolina Hurricanes) was invited to camp/practice as a tryout.  Also at camp on a tryout is former UND goaltender Jordan Parise, Zach Parise’s older brother.   

As far as top defensive pairings, it was Mark Eaton – Kris Letang, Brooks Orpik – Sergei Gonchar, and Jay McKee – Alex Goligoski.  Ben Lovejoy was paired with Brian Strait.

Here are the full training camp team lineups as reported by Sam Kasan on the 2009 Training Camp Blog (click name for player profile):

TEAM A
Forwards:
Ruslan Fedotenko – Evgeni Malkin – Tyler Kennedy
Mike Rupp – Craig Adams – Eric Godard
Joey Haddad – Casey Pierro-Zabotel – Nick Petersen
Ryan Bayda – Zach Sill

Defensemen:
Mark Eaton – Kris Letang
Chris Lee - Deryk Engelland
Jonathan D’Aversa

Goaltenders:
Brent Johnson
Jordan Parise

TEAM B
Forwards:
Matt Cooke – Jordan Staal – Pascal Dupuis
Eric Tangradi – Wyatt Smith – Chris Connor
Wade Brookbank – Joe Vitale – Keven Veilleux
Nathan Moon

Defensemen:
Brooks Orpik – Sergei Gonchar
Brian Strait – Ben Lovejoy
Simon Despres – Robert Bortuzzo

Goaltenders:
Marc-Andre Fleury
Brad Thiessen

TEAM C
Forwards:
Chris Kunitz – Sidney Crosby – Bill Guerin
Luca Caputi – Mark Letestu – Nick Johnson
Paul Bissonnette – Dustin Jeffrey – Tim Wallace
Aaron Boogard

Defensemen:
Jay McKee – Alex Goligoski
Lane Caffaro – Nathan Guenin
Jamie Hunt – Alex Grant

Goaltenders:
John Curry

Next Page »