Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins make a major splash in Sudbury ahead of Hockeyville game

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Gabriel Sami
September 29, 2024 (4:23 PM)

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Tonight's Kraft Hockeyville game between the Penguins and Senators takes place in Sudbury and fans have been dying to meet and greet Sidney Crosby and co.

On Sunday night (7 pm: Sportsnet, SN1, NHLN), Kraft Hockeyville will showcase the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins at their best. For the yearly exhibition match, both teams will play the majority of their best players.

The Penguins are attempting to extract as much brilliance as possible from aging icons like Kris Letang (37), Evgeni Malkin (38), and Sidney Crosby (37). To the delight of Elliott Lake fans traveling from there, all three of those players are scheduled to play on Sunday night.

"When we're going to have this opportunity and this privilege to go to Sudbury to participate in an exhibition game against Ottawa, I think it's great for that community," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told NHL.com. "It's terrific for our players. We all have to try to grow the game and try to connect with the people that love our game and support our game, so from that standpoint, it's a great experience."

Two young fans who had never attended an NHL game were having a conversation with Michael Bunting on the bench.

"So, this will be really special for them. I remember growing up, I was fortunate enough to live in Toronto, so I got to see a few games. They were the best memories I had as a kid. So hopefully, we can make some memories for them."

Here is the roster for tonight's game

Roster

GOALIES

35 - Tristan Jarry

39 - Alex Nedeljkovic

DEFENSE

6 - Dan Renouf

24 - Matt Grzelcyk

28 - Marcus Pettersson

38 - Owen Pickering

45 - Harrison Brunicke

58 - Kris Letang

81 - Mac Hollowell

FORWARDS

2 - Rutger McGroarty

8 - Michael Bunting

13 - Kevin Hayes

14 - Boko Imama

17 - Bryan Rust

19 - Cody Glass

22 - Sam Poulin

44 - Jonathan Gruden

46 - Blake Lizotte

67 - Rickard Rakell

72 - Anthony Beauvillier

71 - Evgeni Malkin

87 - Sidney Crosby

Here is Ottawa's lineup:

This year's Kraft Hockeyville setup is unique. Elliott Lake received a $250,000 grant to renovate their local arena in addition to the right to host the game. However, the game was shifted to Sudbury because the arena isn't yet ready. Nonetheless, Elliot Lake Minor Hockey and the Elliot Lake Figure Skating Club distributed the majority of the tickets.

SportsNet Pittsburgh will broadcast the game. The Penguins app and 105.9 the X will both broadcast the game for fans to listen to.

Seeing Alex Njedelkovic and Tristan Jarry play will be intriguing. Fans are excited to see if they can recover from the harsh criticism they received during the previous season and help the Pens make the playoffs for the first time in two years.

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SEPTEMBRE 29 \| 128 ANSWERS Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins make a major splash in Sudbury ahead of Hockeyville game Who do you think will win this year's Hockeyville game?
Penguins	98	76.6 %
Senators	30	23.4 %
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