CRANBERRY, Pa. -- The Penguins still aren't sure when Sidney Crosby will be back in their lineup.
But they seem to be pretty confident that it will be soon.
Crosby, you see, is on the Penguins' 23-man roster, which suggests they believe there's at least a chance he'll return in less than a week.
Had they played Crosby, who is recovering from wrist surgery, on injured-reserved, he would have had to sit out at least the first seven days of the season, which begins with a game Tuesday at 7:38 p.m. in Tampa.
The Penguins pared their roster to the league limit of 23 Monday by sending Anthony Angello, Radim Zohorna and Drew O'Connor to their farm team in Hershey.
That total does not include Brian Boyle, who attended camp on a professional tryout and has to sign a contract before he can be added.
Boyle is expected to accept a one-year deal for the league minimum of $750,000.
If and when he is signed, the Penguins are expected to place Evgeni Malkin, who is recovering from knee surgery and not expected to play until at least December, on injured-reserve or the Long-Term Injured list.
Also, Mike Sullivan said he doesn't expect Crosby, Jake Guentzel or Zach Aston-Reese to play in the opener Tuesday at Tampa, so it's possible they'll recall a forward -- O'Connor seems like the best bet -- to make sure they have 12 healthy forwards.
Here is the complete list of players who made the cut:
FORWARDS
Zach Aston-Reese
Teddy Blueger
Jeff Carter
Sidney Crosby
Jake Guentzel
Danton Heinen
Kasperi Kapanen
Sam Lafferty
Evgeni Malkin
Brock McGinn
Evan Rodrigues
Bryan Rust
Dominik Simon
Jason Zucker
DEFENSEMEN
Brian Dumoulin
Mark Friedman
Kris Letang
John Marino
Mike Matheson
Marcus Pettersson
Chad Ruhwedel
GOALIES
Casey DeSmith
Tristan Jarry
