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Almost done with the fake stuff |
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In some areas of the world the NHL regular season will be beginning today and in others there will be an exhibition game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Pittsburgh will wrap up their preseason slate at home against the Blue Jackets this evening and they will have a more NHL centric lineup than they had last night.
They also have a familiar face joining regular practice today for the first time this camp.
Erik Karlsson is out with his teammates after missing all of camp with what appears to be a normal jersey. This is great news because things weren’t looking great as camp kept going on and Karlsson wasn’t present. Karlsson is a must for this team to be competitive along with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
He’s not all the way back yet. He is still technically no contact.
Still good to see some tangible progress.
Here’s how the lines looked:
It is still a little early to be sure of what the regular season lines are going to look like. Bryan Rust will clearly be on the top line on the right wing. What they ultimately do with Anthony Beauvillier is something I’m not exactly sure of yet. My guess is he will take the left wing spot Rutger McGroarty is currently in. Personally, I would not have Noel Acciari as one of the best 12 forwards on this team. There’s no offensive upside and I have a low tolerance for players absent any offense.
I love still seeing Harrison Brunicke rotating in with the A squad. He’s more than earned it. If he gets a nine-game look his reward is likely playing on a pairing with Ryan Graves. If he’s able to stay afloat doing that, it might not be a nine-game thing. We’ll see if they even give him the regular season look. I would.
Last preseason game, let’s get to the real stuff.
Thanks for reading!