Rust out of isolation, rejoins team in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — After spending several days in isolation in a Dallas hotel, Penguins forward Bryan Rust rejoined the club during Sunday’s practice at T-Mobile Arena. While his timing and touch might take a bit to return, his dad jokes are in midseason form.
“Probably like anybody would after having a week off, [I’m] a bit rusty — pun intended,” he said, in a nod to his nickname.
Coach Mike Sullivan said the team has yet to officially decide if Rust will be in action when the puck drops against the Golden Knights on Monday. Many signs point in a positive direction. Rust skated in his usual spot on the top line’s right wing, alongside center Sidney Crosby and left wing Jake Guentzel. He also appeared on the top power play. Typically, those are good indications that a player will be active at game time.
“I felt decent out there today,” Rust said. “Obviously it wasn’t perfect. Probably skate again in again the morning. So, we’ll go from there.”
There’s never a good time to come down with COVID19. But for Rust, testing positive on the morning of Jan. 8 was especially rough luck during a season in which he has struggled to catch a break.
Rust has been sidelined on two instances because of injuries and worked his way through a slower start to the season. Through the first 11 games of the season, Rust had just one empty net goal.
When Rust returned Jan. 2 after his latest injury, he quickly became the one of the most productive Penguins. He netted a hat trick on the night of his return, setting off a streak in which he scored seven goals in three games. But, just as he was finally beginning to heat up, case of COVID forced him to miss the past four games. Rust said he had mild symptoms for a few days.
“It’s been interesting, to say the least,” Rust said, when asked about his season. “There’s been some highs and there’s been some lows. But that’s how things go sometimes, especially in a year like this. In the times we’re living in, with the all the uncertainty and everything, sometimes injuries happen. I guess you can say nowadays, sometimes COVID happens. I think you just got to take it with a grain of salt and keep trying to push forward.”
Top line reunited
While Rust was absent, fellow forward Evan Rodrigues had a chance to reshape the direction of the top line.
Crosby and Guentzel benefit from Rust’s infusion of speed and his defensive conscience, yet Rodrigues has been among the most productive Penguins this season. He’s netted 15 goals, which is second only to Guentzel, and has shown some chemistry with the top-line tandem.
However, the performance of the top line during Rust’s absence likely pushed that idea to the back burner. During the past four games, the top line of Guentzel, Crosby and Rodrigues has combined for zero regulation goals and just two total points.
“I think it’s been a microcosm of our whole team,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think we’ve had our best game here in the last number of games. We know we’re capable of more. Our expectations are higher. …”
“I know we can all be better. That was a conversation that we’ve had with our team here over the last few days. And now it’s our challenge to figure out how to put our best game on the ice.”
In Sunday’s practice, Rust returned to the top line. Meanwhile, Rodrigues skated on an intriguing third line that also featured center Jeff Carter and left wing Radim Zohorna.
Roster updates
Evgeni Malkin and Drew O’Connor were absent from Sunday’s practice. Sullivan said both forwards took “maintenance” days.” … Assuming Malkin suits up Monday, the Penguins will roll out all four of their regular centers in the middle for the first time all season. That depth is one of the strengths of the team, with Crosby, Malkin, Carter and Teddy Blueger each in the middle of their own line.