Forwards Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz will play in their first game of this preseason when the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, coach Mike Johnston confirmed Friday.
Crosby and Kunitz each missed time at the beginning of training camp with unspecified injuries but have been skating for the past several days.
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"Yeah, I feel good," Crosby said Friday. "It will be good to get in a game and get back in there. It's been a while."
Forward Pascal Dupuis, who is coming back from knee surgery and recently shed his red no-contract jersey at practice, won't play Saturday, Johnston said.
Forward Evgeni Malkin, who has an unspecified injury and hasn't returned to practice, isn't skating or working out right now, Johnston said.
"I expect that he will be over these next 4-5 days," Johnston said. "... Geno is going to have a little bit more catch-up, but we've been doing video work with him, so at least he knows how we want to play and what changes there are, what adjustments he has to make."
The Penguins have won two of their first three preseason games as they adjust to a new style under Johnston. The game against Columbus is one of three remaining before the regular season opens Oct. 9 against the Anaheim Ducks.
"I think we've been playing a pretty fast game," Crosby said. "I think we've been pretty aggressive. Been on the puck a lot, created turnovers.
"We've been hard to play against. That's what every team wants to be, but we want to establish that early, especially with new systems."
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