Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Zemgus Girgensons will play his first preseason game on Thursday in Pittsburgh against the Penguins. Tage Thompson and Casey Mittelstadt are also on the roster for the game.
Some of the youngsters that will be going to Pittsburgh include Zach Benson, Brandon Biro, Tyson Kozak, Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen, Filip Cederqvist and Russian winger Viktor Neuchev, who is back from injury.
JJ Peterka and Jordan Greenway will round out the forward group.
The Sabres lost in St. Thomas, Ontario on Wednesday to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and there are some players that will be doing back-to-back trips. That includes defensemen Ryan Johnson and Jacob Bryson, goalie Michael Houser and winger Aleksandr Kisakov.
Eric Comrie will get the call in goal for Buffalo. He played Sunday for 40 minutes against the Washington Capitals and gave up two goals on 17 shots.
The Sabres will face quite a few of the Penguins' stars on Thursday, as Sidney Crosby, Erik Karlsson, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Tristan Jarry are all on their game day roster.
Buffalo still has a handful of players that haven’t played in a preseason game., including forwards Alex Tuch and Kyle Okposo, and defensemen Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton.
The Sabres also announced Thursday morning that defensive prospects Mats Lindgren and Norwin Panocha have been sent back to their junior programs. Lindgren will return to the Western Hockey League and play for the Red Deer Rebels, while Panocha will begin his first season in North America in the QMJHL with the Chicoutimi Saguenees.
Faceoff on WGR with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray is set for 7:05 p.m. ET. Brian Koziol and I will also be joining you throughout the night.
