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The Pens play preseason game #5 tonight in Minnesota. Lineups for both teams have been announced but there will be some changes on the Pens side.
Sidney Crosby was scheduled to play on Saturday, but had to miss the game due to his grandmother's passing. This was his maternal grandmother who lived in Halifax - his paternal grandmother died last April, shortly after he broke his jaw. He will now also miss tonight's game as the funeral details are now known.
Sort of related, given it centers around Halifax, is this article around the shrine to Sid in Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame. One of my best friends from college lives in Halifax now and I visited her at least 3 times and it never occurred to me to go see the dryer. I'm not a good Crosby fan.
The battle for Fleury's backup is nearing an end. Zatkoff and Greiss will split time tonight in Minnesota. My money is on Greiss, but we will see.
The Pens dodged a bullet as Beau Bennett will [only] miss six weeks, or about 12 games of the regular season, with the knee injury sustained at Friday's practice. Kasperi Kapanen may get a prolonged look in Beau's absence. So far he's made a decent impression.
Since the start of camp several players have complained about the ice conditions at Consol. There were grumblings that bad ice may have factored in Bennett's injury. Other events in the building aren't an excuse. Wells Fargo Center has two pro teams and concerts on every sports off-night and the Flyers always have good ice. This is getting ridiculous.
Steve Downie has a friend in his corner in Rick Tocchet. With Bennett's injury who knows where he may end up playing.
Rob Scuderi's struggles last season weren't lost on anyone, least of all himself. He says that the new, simpler system being instituted by Mike Johnston suits him more. Let's all drink to that.
Craig Adams, on the other hand, will not benefit from a change in systems. While Johnston has made no guarantees about anyone's roster spot being safe, I'll believe Adams isn't secure when I see it.
Philip Samuelsson and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond were assigned to WBS Penguins this morning. This leaves 32 players on the roster. Samuelsson was placed on waivers and teams have until noon tomorrow to claim him.
The Pens will be out of town most of the week. After practicing this morning at 11 am, they will fly to Minnesota, play the Wild tonight, then on to Detroit for the last preseason game, followed by a team bonding trip in the Poconos.