The Pittsburgh Penguins will wear their blue “third jersey” for the first time this season when they take on the Buffalo Sabres Saturday at Mellon Arena. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

It is the same blue uniform that the Penguins wore for last season’s NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day against the Sabres in Buffalo.

“The blue jersey and blue uniform became immensely popular among our fans during and after the Winter Classic,” said Penguins president David Morehouse. “The uniform looks tremendous, and it also is a great tribute to our heritage. It was an easy decision to settle on this as our new ‘third jersey.’ ”

The uniform actually dates back to the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Penguins changed their colors to black and gold in 1980 and have not worn any version of blue on home ice since the 1979-80 season.

The Penguins will wear the blue alternate uniform 11 times during the 2008-09 season – all at home games. The blue schedule:

Saturday, Nov. 15       Buffalo
Tuesday, Nov. 18        Minnesota
Saturday, Dec. 20       Toronto
Saturday, Dec. 27       Montreal
Saturday, Jan. 3          Florida
Sunday, Jan. 18          NY Rangers
Sunday, Feb. 8            Detroit
Wednesday, Feb. 25   NY Islanders
Saturday, March 14     Ottawa
Sunday, March 22       Philadelphia
Wednesday, April 1     New Jersey