Penguins Morning Skate Buzz on Tangradi, Kennedy & Lineup news

Happy Veterans Day: First off today wanted to say Happy Veterans day to all of the men and women who have served our country making such a brave sacrifice, and to those serving now –

Morning Skate Buzz

Labled as a game time decision, the Pittsburgh Penguins are not expecting winger Tyler Kennedy to return from a concussion tonight. Kennedy went through individual workouts prior to the morning skate and during the morning skate was the odd-man out. He will sit out tonight’s game but is considered an option to play tomorrow night vs Carolina.

*This morning Eric Tangradi skated in a spot that had been expected.

He took line rushes on the 4th line at left wing with Joe Vitale at center and Craig Adams at right wing.

Tangradi is expected to see 4th line minutes tonight with some power play time mixed in. As I mentioned last night, I wasn’t a big fan of bringing Tangradi up for a short-term recall, taking top-6 minutes away from him in the minors to play a 4th line role at the NHL level for a few games.

A team source said, the callup is more about rewarding Tangradi for his play in the minors this season as he’s a player the team still see’s for now in their long-term picture.

Meanwhile, Jordan Staal who has been dealing with a sore leg for a couple weeks is fine and ready to go for tonight’s game. He will center Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis on the second line.

Tonight’s Projected Lineup

Sullivan – Malkin – Neal

Kunitz – Staal – Dupuis

Cooke – Park – Asham

Tangradi – Vitale – Adams

DEFENSEMEN

Orpik – Engelland

Martin – Letang

Picard Niskanen

Marc Andre Fleury is expected to start in goal.

*The Stars come into tonight’s with the most points in the NHL at 22 and are riding a four game winning streak. Dallas is 8-2 in their last 10 games.