Penguins projected lineup
Anthony Beauvillier -- Sidney Crosby -- Rickard Rakell
Michael Bunting -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust
Jesse Puljujarvi -- Drew O’Connor -- Sam Poulin
Matthew Nieto -- Noel Acciari -- Valtteri Puustinen
Marcus Pettersson -- Erik Karlsson
Matt Grzelcyk -- Jack St. Ivany
Ryan Graves -- Ryan Shea
Tristan Jarry
Alex Nedeljkovic
Scratched: Vasiliy Ponomarev, Owen Pickering
Injured: Kevin Hayes (upper body), Cody Glass (concussion), Blake Lizotte (concussion), Kris Letang (illness)
Blue Jackets projected lineups
Dmitri Voronkov -- Sean Monahan -- Kirill Marchenko
Cole Sillinger -- Adam Fantilli -- Yegor Chinakhov
Mikael Pyyhtia -- Justin Danforth -- Mathieu Olivier
Zach Aston-Reese -- Sean Kuraly -- Kevin Labanc
Zach Werenski -- Dante Fabbro
Ivan Provorov -- Damon Severson
Jake Christiansen -- Jordan Harris
Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: James van Riemsdyk, Jack Johnson, David Jiricek
Injured: Boone Jenner (upper body), Erik Gudbranson (upper body), Kent Johnson (upper body)
Status report
St. Ivany replaces Letang, a defenseman who will miss his first game this season. … Nieto will make his season debut; he has not played since Nov. 30, 2023, when he sustained a left knee injury that led to reconstructive MCL surgery in May. He will replaced Lizotte, a forward who left in the first period of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday after being hit in the face with a puck on a shot by O'Connor. ... Jarry will make his first start since Oct. 16; he was recalled Nov. 9 following a conditioning stint with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. … Kent Johnson, a forward, practiced for a second straight day and will make the trip for games at the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and the Boston Bruins on Monday. … Harris replaces defenseman Jack Johnson.
