BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It's safe to say that the Penguins' first five spots on the blue line have been secured.
They belong to Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Pettersson, Jeff Petry, and Jan Rutta.
The battle for that last spot is between Chad Ruhwedel, Mark Friedman, P.O Joseph and Ty Smith.
All four of those defensemen were in the lineup for the Penguins' 3-1 loss to the Sabres here in Buffalo, the team's fourth game of the exhibition season.