It’s only been a few days, but the first segment of training camp is already over for the Penguins. Camp began with three days worth of intense and energetic 90-minute practices that brought a ton of basics from skating and drills to get the edge back on the players after a long summer, earning them […]
It’s only been a few days, but the first segment of training camp is already over for the Penguins. Camp began with three days worth of intense and energetic 90-minute practices that brought a ton of basics from skating and drills to get the edge back on the players after a long summer, earning them all a well-deserved day off today on Sunday.
The preseason moves quickly and shifts gears into an unofficial second segment this week, the exhibition games start. And oh boy, they don’t stop. The Pens play their first game tomorrow night in Montreal, they have four total games this week with it being easier to list days when there aren’t games (Tuesday and Thursday) compared to when there are (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday).
Here’s the schedule for the week to come:
September 22
11:30 AM – Morning Skate
7:00 PM – GAME AT MONTREAL (Bell Centre)September 23
8:45-10:15 AM – Group A Practice
11:30 AM-1:00 PM – Group B Practice
2:00-3:30 PM – Group C PracticeSeptember 24
11:30 AM – Morning Skate
7:00 PM – GAME AT COLUMBUSSeptember 25
DAY OFFSeptember 26
10:30 AM – Morning Skate
12:00 PM – Non-Game Group Practice
7:00 PM – GAME VS. DETROITSeptember 27
10:30 AM – Morning Skate
7:00 PM – GAME VS. COLUMBUS
The other item to note is that for next Sunday’s practice, the three groups will merge down into two groups, clearly and obviously signaling that many of the 68 remaining healthy players in camp will be getting sent away in the coming days. If it follows last season’s major first cut it should be composed of most the junior level players (including anyone in the 2025 draft class in camp) as well as very low-end ECHL/AHL fringe level players. No one of relative prominence or with even the longest of long shots to make the NHL roster will be departing in the very near future, but the time is coming to start paring the roster down.
Before they do that, however, the roster will go the other way and increase by one on Friday when Marc-Andre Fleury comes back to practice in preparation for his game action on Saturday night against Columbus. It will be an emotional chance for the player and fans to say goodbye to each other one more time. Fleury, endearing as ever, is concerned about not looking like an “idiot” out there. He’s got nothing to worry about there, but it speaks to the compete level of how these athletes are wired – they don’t want to take a victory lap, they want to make sure that they can perform. Even for a meaningless exhibition.
All of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang have made recent comments about participating in Fleury’s final game, even though it’s somewhat early in the preseason schedule for their typical involvement. Of course, this isn’t a typical preseason game and will have as much pomp and circumstance leading up to it as any game all season. It’s pretty incredible that a preseason game very well might be the toughest ticket in town all year long (and most expensive one too), but that’s the strange reality of the situation. If you can’t be there in person, the good news is that the game will be televised locally on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and nationally on the NHL Network. The NHL Network, in fact, will additionally be showing Monday and Friday’s Penguin games broadcast as well.
But first, the team has to get to Saturday and the first three preseason games of the week. Individually these are chances for evaluation, but it’s probably not going to be the most insightful week of games early on. The Pens will look to fill the required number of NHL bodies and give some younger players a chance to play preseason games. This week is more about getting through and checking off the boxes — up until Friday’s practice, of course.
This week will mark the first full week of the preseason, and since things move so fast this time of year, also mark the second-to-last week of the preseason as well. This time of year doesn’t last long, but the fleeting moment to celebrate and give a send off to Marc-Andre Fleury stands out as a clear top event that will be remembered and cherished for a long time to come.
Category: General Sports
