The Pittsburgh Penguins winger was injured during Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks.
Things are not going to get any easier for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they try to play their way out of an early season slump and snap their five-game losing streak.
Head coach Mike Sullivan announced on Tuesday morning that forward Bryan Rust is going to be sidelined on a week-to-week basis due to a lower-body injury that he suffered against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.
Mike Sullivan said Bryan Rust is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Joel Blomqvist gets the start tonight against Minnesota.
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) October 29, 2024
Rust already missed the season-opener against the New York Rangers before making his season debut.
Once he got into the lineup it has been a bit of a mixed bag. He has three goals in the Penguins’ first eight games, but his defensive impacts have not been good as the team’s top line has badly struggled.
Still, given Rust’s track record you have to assume that he can — and will — bounce back. The Penguins will have to wait for that to happen now.
When healthy Rust has been one of the Penguins’ best forwards in recent years, going from a mid-round draft pick, to a depth player, to a core piece over the course of his career. The only downside in recent years has been the fact he has missed significant time due to injury, missing at least 20 games in two of the past three seasons. Depending on how long this injury keeps him out of the lineup he could be on track for that again.
In his absence the Penguins are going to have to re-work their top line, and look to be experimenting by loading up their three best offensive players with Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell playing on Sidney Crosby’s wings.