The Penguins will be in action tonight against another NHL team. Pittsburgh will be in Buffalo for their first preseason game of the year. There aren’t many intriguing storylines this year for the Penguins in training camp. Daniel Sprong’s ability to contribute in the lineup is the most interesting variable. Jack Johnson’s ability to contribute is another one.

The opponent has many more interesting subplots because the Sabres have struggled for a while and they have a lot more roster battles and new faces to talk about. Tonight it appears they will be dressing some good players. Expected to play tonight are: Rasmus Dahlin, Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner, and Casey Mittelstadt and their new goaltender Carter Hutton.

This will be Rasmus Dahlin’s debut against NHL competition. It’s always fun to see a #1 overall pick play against your team. Casey Mittelstadt is one of my favorite young players in the league. I have no idea if he is going to live up to his potential, but I love the way he plays. It’s fun to watch. We may also get our first look at Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner together. This will be the first year that Eichel is getting any kind of help whatsoever not only on his line, but from the backend as well with the addition of Dahlin. I think if Eichel is healthy he is going to have a monster year.

The Penguins aren’t going to have as many good players in the lineup. There will be no Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, or Kris Letang. Daniel Sprong, Jake Guentzel, Olli Maatta, and Zach Aston-Reese lead the notable players for Pittsburgh. Not exactly their best lineup even for a preseason game.

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