Penguins To Feature Intriguing Lineup Saturday. And Fleury, Too.

The Pittsburgh Penguins enter Saturday on the back leg of a pre-season back-to-back, and everyone in North America is aware that a special someone is back in town for one last hurrah.

But Marc-Andre Fleury won’t be the only source of entertainment when the Penguins take on the Columbus Blue Jackets for second and final time this pre-season. 

In their 3-2 comeback win against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, the Penguins featured mostly a prospect- and AHL-focused lineup. There were a few exceptions in guys like Danton Heinen, Blake Lizotte, Philip Tomasino, Connor Dewar, and Matt Dumba, but may others were players fighting for role positions on the NHL roster.

That’s not the case for Saturday’s game.

Not only are the big veteran players in Fleury, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust, and Rickard Rakell slated to start, they will also ice most of their top organizational prospects – offering fans a glimpse into what the future could look like for the Penguins. 

During the summer, we released our full Top-20 Penguins’ Prospects list. As it turns out, many of them are going to be in the lineup Saturday for the Penguins. Top-five prospects Harrison Brunicke, Ville Koivunen, Ben Kindel, and Sergei Murashov are all listed on the roster, as are Owen Pickering, Tristan Broz, Filip Hallander, Finn Harding, and Avery Hayes. 

It should be a nice blend of past, present, and future, gift-wrapped within a game that may not have any meaning in terms of standings and points but hold significant emotional value.

“We felt like this was one… today’s a little bit unique,” head coach Dan Muse said. “You got the uniqueness there of Marc-Andre Fleury being here and the celebration of him going into the game, so I think this is just the way it lined up.”

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Here are the lines and pairings for Saturday’s game:

Forwards
A. Hayes – Crosby – Rust
Anthony Mantha – Malkin – Justin Brazeau
Koivunen – Rakell – Kindel
Boko Imama – Broz – Rafael Harvey-Pinard
Hallander

Defensemen
Parker Wotherspoon – Karlsson
Caleb Jones – Letang
Pickering – Brunicke
Harding

Goaltenders
Murashov
Fleury

It is already known that Fleury will suit up for the third period and Murashov will anchor the opening two. Murashov has emerged as a legitimate prospect candidate to take the reins as the Penguins’ goaltender of the future, as his dominance at every level of professional hockey has been something to marvel at. 

In some ways, Murashov is remniscent of a young Fleury – quick, athletic, agile, cool, confident, and poised. So it’s only fitting that – akin to the rest of the roster – past and future get to suit up in the same game. 

And Fleury’s advice for Murashov and other young Penguins’ goaltenders?

“You better try hard,” Fleury said Friday. “I’m coming to take your spot.”

And for one night, one period only, he will.

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