Pittsburgh Penguins’ winger Bryan Rust has been through it before with injuries, and this season has been no different.
Rust sustained a lower-body injury during training camp that held him out for the first two games of the 2024-25 season. He played in eight games – registering three goals and four points – before the same injury knocked him out of the lineup again for almost two weeks.
“Obviously, any time you get hurt, it sucks,” Rust said. “It kinda takes you out of that flow.”
Rust admitted it sometimes takes a minute to get reacclimated in the lineup after an injury.
“I think I keep just trying to build my game, because anytime you try to get back into it after an injury, it might take a game or two,” he said. “Things might be off. Your reads might be off a little bit. But, I’ve had my fair share of injuries, so I can kind of figure out the best way to make sure I’m at my best when I’m coming back.”
And, by all measures – six games later – it is starting to look like he is definitely back.
Upon his second return, his usual linemate, Sidney Crosby, was playing alongside Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell, all of whom were playing very well. After head coach Mike Sullivan decided to break up that power line, he bumped Malkin back down to the second line, kept Rakell and Crosby – who had built chemistry – together, and slotted Rust next to Malkin and Michael Bunting.
And, since then, it seems he has really found his game. He’s scoring at a 30-goal pace. He’s been better in the defensive zone. His reads are better. His skating – a strength of his game – has been evident, too, as Rust himself said that his ability to move his feet is a huge part of his game.
He has even successfully pulled off two of his signature power moves that resulted in goals on both occasions: one for Malkin, one for himself:
But the work his linemates have put in – as well as his chemistry with both of them – seems to be helping his cause as well.
“Bunts is a blue-collar guy, goes out there, works really hard,” Rust said. “He’s really good around the net. Got really good hands in tight, makes good plays. Geno’s Geno. He can make some special things happen out there. He’s a guy that, if I can use my skating to open up some space for him, he’s gonna find that space to make plays.”
Rust has also enjoyed somewhat of a promotion since his return. Defenseman Kris Letang has missed the last three games with an illness, and during that time, Rust has been sporting the “A” as an alternate captain.
Sullivan had nothing but good things to say about Rust’s work ethic and character.
“He’a a Stanley Cup champion. He’s been here a long time,” Sullivan said. “In a lot of ways, he personifies what it means to be a Pittsburgh Penguin. He’s deserving of that leadership role. Even when he doesn’t wear a letter, he’s a leader on this team.”
Rust and the Penguins know the task at hand. After a commanding win against the Washington Capitals on Nov. 8, the Penguins have dropped four of their last five games and have been outscored, 22-11. They own a league-worst goal differential of minus-26, they’re a league-worst defensive team, and they have blown multi-goal leads eight times this season, including in their last two games.
They have a tough schedule ahead, as they play a back-to-back against the Winnipeg Jets and Utah Hockey Club Friday and Saturday before facing the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday.
Rust knows it won’t be easy, and he and the team know they need to play better, smarter, and more committed to defense.
“For us, the harder we can play defensively, the faster we can get out of our end,” Rust said. “I think that just plays into our strengths. We’ve got a lot of guys who can do a lot of really good things with the puck, so I think the harder we can play on defense, and the sooner we can get it back, that’s our goal.”
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