Breaking News: Penguins To Miss 31-Year Old Through Injury Return Date Unknown
This isn’t necessarily positive news for one of the primary offensive players for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
On Tuesday, the head coach, Mike Sullivan, of the Pittsburgh Penguins revealed that forward Bryan Rust will be sidelined week-to-week due to an upper-body injury.
Rust sustained the injury during Pittsburgh’s 7-6 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. He was involved in a collision in the neutral zone during the second period and exited the game shortly before his teammate, Drew O’Connor, scored.
Despite the unfortunate injury, Rust displayed an impressive performance in the game against the Flyers, scoring two goals and providing an assist. Prior to this injury, he had already missed 13 games due to various other injuries. Rust was absent for three games in November due to a lower-body injury and then missed 10 games the following month due to an upper-body injury.
Adding to their challenges, the Penguins are also missing another key scorer, as Jake Guentzel is currently on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Consequently, Reilly Smith has been promoted to the top line alongside Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell, with whom Rust had been playing for the past few weeks.
In the current season, Rust, who hails from Pontiac, Michigan, has recorded 18 goals and 18 assists in 42 games, ranking him sixth in scoring for the Penguins.
Throughout his career spanning 547 games, Rust has accumulated 162 goals and 190 assists, with 35 points in 79 games.
As Pittsburgh (26-21-8) embarks on a road trip, they find themselves in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, trailing the Philadelphia Flyers by seven points for third place. Moreover, they are eight points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Penguins are set to face tough competition during their road trip, starting with a match against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night, followed by games against the Seattle Kraken, Calgary Flames, and Edmonton Oilers.