Sidney Crosby is set to make his first appearance of the preseason tonight when his Pittsburgh Penguins play in Detroit against the Red Wings.

Crosby took a leave of absence from training camp last week to return home to Nova Scotia after his grandmother passed away. Earlier in camp he missed games because of an undisclosed injury.

"Ideally you'd get at least a couple (of games in) but that's the scenario," Crosby told ESPN. "I'm not going to complain about it. That's the way it is. I'm going to try and make the most of this game and get ready for the season."

The Penguins captain skated at practice on Wednesday morning on a line with Chris Kunitz and Patric Hornqvist.

"It's going to be good, for sure. [Crosby]'s ready to play, he's been anxious to play," said new Penguins head coach Mike Johnston. "Certainly having him with our lineup gives us just that punch up front that we need."

Pittsburgh also added Daniel Carcillo to its lineup against the Red Wings and will be sitting out Olli Maatta. Evgeni Malkin is also out due to injury.

The Penguins went 2-3-0 in Crosby's absence during the preseason and last played Monday in a 4-1 loss to Minnesota.

The Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 on Monday night at Joe Louis Arena.