Penguins/Blue Jackets Preview: What to watch for tonight

It will be the last chance for many to make an impression

The Penguins hit the road for the final time in the preseason tonight against Columbus. Here was how the team practiced in PA before departing.

There’s a lot of talent here that will be in the AHL in the very near future, giving one last chance for many of these players to make an impression on NHL management when it comes time for mid-season callups. Even though Jonathan Gruden and Boko Imama are on the fourth line here, they could very well be among the first forwards promoted from Wilkes, depending on the role the team needs.

Otherwise, from Valtteri Puustinen to Sam Poulin and Emil Bemstrom, one more game represents one more chance to make an impact. Let’s see what ya got.

Tonight’s top line is an interesting one, and after the injury to Blake Lizotte this could even be a possibility for a fourth line to start out the regular season. That would be bad news for Cody Glass’s positioning as a top-12 forward, but also speaks to the strong preseason that Jesse Puljujarvi has had and the impressive first camp of Rutger McGroarty.

Add in some prospects who have had decently nice preseasons in Ville Koivunen, Tristan Broz and Owen Pickering and that’s nice to see those guys get one more opportunity before being sent to the AHL to start their pro careers off this fall.

Saving the best for last, the name you don’t see above is Harrison Brunicke. Despite being named to the game roster for this contest, it probably actually is a good thing that Brunicke is absent from a lineup of players who mostly aren’t in the short-term NHL plans. That opens the door for him to get one more look tomorrow night for the final preseason game, with the NHL regulars.

This group will have their work cut out from them, the Blue Jackets are dressing an NHL-worthy roster in their final home tune up for the regular season.

That job will fall on Tristan Jarry, who has been announced as scheduled to play the whole game tonight for the Pens. Filip Larsson will be backing him up, which also intriguingly suggests that Larsson and/or Joel Blomqvist will get the opportunity to play tomorrow night in the final preseason game in front of the Pens’ varsity roster.