PENGUINS READY TO LACE UP THE SKATES AGAINST RANGERS

The Penguins had Sunday off as they ready themselves for Wednesday’s season-opening game against the New York Rangers.

The team has placed veteran defenseman Sebastian Aho and forward Boko Imama on waivers. If they clear by two o’clock this afternoon, they can be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. It likely means that 18-year-old defenseman Harrison Brunicke has made the team. The second-round draft pick is still junior-eligible and can stay with the Pens for a maximum of nine games before they either choose to keep him and activate his three-year entry-level contract, or send him back to Kamloops of the Western Hockey League, which would slide his contract to next season.

The Pens have until five o’clock this afternoon to set their roster for the opener. They have to get down to 23 players, and with the Aho and Imama cuts, and players such as Blake Lizotte, Matt Nieto, and Alex Ndeljkovic likely headed to injured reserve, they would still need to make decisions on at least a couple of more players.

With defenseman Erik Karlsson indicating that he will be ready to play on Wednesday after sitting out most of training camp, and with Karlsson’s former LA Kings coach David Quinn taking over the power play, coach Mike Sullivan says he will probably switch up the unit by putting Karlsson and Kris Letang on the ice together, a different look than last season.

Sullivan says the Penguins love having Quinn on the coaching staff, for his outgoing personality and for his expertise.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is looking forward to the start of another season, and he is eager for teammate Evgeni Malkin to score his 500^th career goal. Malkin needs two more to join Crosby (592) and Mario Lemieux (690) in the 500-goal club, with all of their goals coming in a Penguins uniform.

Erik Karlsson is simply looking forward to playing in a hockey game after missing all of the preseason. He says it’ll probably take a few games to hit his stride, but he’s feeling good.