Letang will miss his second straight game with what the Penguins called a “minor lower-body” injury. With Letang sidelined, Robert Bortuzzo will stay in the lineup. Letang is considered day-to-day.

Letang missed Saturday’s game with what the Penguins called a “minor lower-body injury”. While the word minor would suggest he won’t miss a lot of time, however his absence this morning suggests he could miss tomorrow’s game vs. New Jersey.

There is no word on if Letang suffered and injury. He could have been injured in warmups. Robert Bortuzzo will be in the lineup.

Mantha has been sidelined since mid-September with a fractured tibia. He has been cleared to do some practice drills this week and the Red Wings are hoping he will make his pro hockey debut with Grand Rapids in a couple of weeks. The Red Wings are always patient with their prospects so Mantha will have to get his feet wet with the Griffins, before he can even consider making his NHL debut.

Hayes was one of the last players on the ice at the Rangers morning skate which suggests he will serve as a healthy scratch tonight vs. Minnesota. He was also bumped off of the power-play, which is another sign that he will not play. Ryan Malone is expected to take his spot in the lineup, with Martin St. Louis moving to his spot as the first line centre. Hayes has one goal and one assist in six games.

Well there you go, first year head coach Mike Johnston all but guarenteed that Malkin will return from his lower-body injury and play the right wing on the Penguins second line with Pascal Dupuis and Brandon Sutter.

Malkin missed all of the preseason but has been practicing the last two days and says he thinks he will play when the Penguins open up their season on Thursday vs. the Ducks. Health has been a concern for Malkin in recent years (missed 85 games in 4 years), but talent definitely is not a concern. He had 23 goals and 49 assists (72 points) in 60 games last season.

Malkin has said that he has a 50/50 chance of playing on Thursday, but should be back by Saturday if he can't play tomorrow. Expect another update after this morning's skate.

Malkin who has played centre for the vast majority of his career is expected to start the season on the wing under new head coach Mike Johnston. Malkin is still questionable for Thursday's season opener, but when he gets in the lineup, be prepared to see him on the wing.

Dumba, 20, played 13 games with the Wild last season before being sent back to juniors. He has cracked the Wild opening day roster and will play on the third pair with Christian Folin, but will also lineup on the top power-play unit next to Ryan Suter. If he can lock this spot down, he makes for a great pick-up and sleeper candidate. The second-year D-man has a ton of offensive talent, evidenced by his 24 points (8G / 16A) in 26 games with the Portland Winterhawks (WHL) last season.

Malkin skated with the Sidney Crosby and Patric Honrqvist this morning and said that he is feeling good, just a little out of shape. He added that if he doesn't play in the opener on Thursday, he expects to be in the lineup on Saturday vs. the Maple Leafs. This is great news for the Penguins and Malkin owners.

Being used on the wing suggests that Malkin was simply filling in for Chris Kunitz and may not be ready for Thursday's season opener. Malkin missed the preseason with a lower-body injury, but his status should be monitored over the next two days.

Details on Malkin's injury have been very vague. Six days ago head coach Mike Johnson originally said that Malkin would be out four or five more days, so it appears that Malkin's recovery is on schedule. Malkin has battled injuries throughout his career, so this is not the way he wanted to start the 2014-15 season. The Penguins start their season on Thusday, so monitor Malkin's status as the season approaches.

Malkin missed his second straight day of training camp on Friday, but he is expected to be ready to go for the start of the season. The Penguins announced on Thursday that Malkin is only dealing with a minor injury.

The Penguins announced on Thursday that he would be held out of the early portion of camp as a precautionary measure as he recovers from a minor undisclosed injury. Crosby is coming off of his healthiest season in four years, so it is a great sign to see him back on the ice right away. The injury is reportedly not related to the wrist injury he decided not to get surgery on this summer.

Mantha, 20, is the reigning CHL player of the year after scoring 57 goals and 63 assists (120 points) in 57 games with Val d'Or (QMJHL). Mantha had a great chance to make the Red Wings out of training camp, but now will likely start in the AHL when he returns in late-October/early-November.

There was a lot of talk about Crosby requiring surgery this offseason, but after further evaluation the Penguins have determined that he will continue to get treatment, but avoid surgery.

"Sidney Crosby has been undergoing treatment on a right wrist injury that he suffered during the season," general manager Jim Rutherford said in a statement. "Sid is getting medical advice to determine the best path moving forward, including the possibility of arthroscopic surgery. No final decision has been made on surgery at this point. We expect to have a decision by early next week." After leading the League in scoring during the regular season (36 goals, 68 assists), Crosby had one goal and eight points in 13 playoff games.

It was been a tough season for Letang. He dealt with a knee injury to start the season, an elbow infection in December and January and then of course his stroke in February. Now Letang's latest injuries to his foot and hand, I'm sure he will be happy to relax his banged up body over the offseason.

The Pens will continue to keep Neal and Letang relegated to the second powerplay unit.