Penguins/NHL
Winger Jarome Iginla arrived in Pittsburgh around 12:30 am and will make his Penguins debut today vs the New York Islanders
Iginla who was all smiles in meeting with the media minutes ago, is excited about chasing a Stanley Cup and he will start out playing left wing on Evgeni Malkin’s line. Iginla said he is comfortable playing the left side, stating he played the left early in his career with the Flames as Theo Fleury played the right side.
“They have a great team here and obviously great chemistry,” Iginla said.”I’m just coming here to fit in, come work hard with them and compete. The goal is to win.”
— The big news from today’s morning session is that defenseman Paul Martin is out for at least six weeks with a broken bone (believed to be hand) that will require surgery. The injury figures to sideline Martin for the start of playoffs. With Martin out, Matt Niskanen will be paired with Brooks Orpik today. Mark Eaton and Douglas Murray will be the Penguins No. 2 pairing.
Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma talked of Simon Despres being “capable” of a bigger role. Despres and Engelland will be the No. 3 pairing today.
The Penguins are also already without defenseman Kris Letang who is sidelined due to broken toes. The team figures to bring Robert Bortuzzo back up from his conditioning assignment. Bortuzzo hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since February 28, a 4-1 loss to the Hurricanes.
Tomas Vokoun will start in goal.
TODAY’S LINEUP
updated (12:45 p.m.) Based on warmups here’s today’s lineup:
Kunitz – Crosby – Dupuis
Iginla – Malkin – Neal
Morrow – Sutter – Cooke
Glass – Adams – Kennedy
DEFENSEMEN
Orpik – Niskanen
Murray – Eaton
Despres – Engelland
Tomas Vokoun in net
