- Bryan Rust left Pittsburgh’s preseason finale with an undisclosed injury
- He exited early in the second period of the Penguins’ 3-1 win over Buffalo
- Read below for what it means with the season opener three days away
Bryan Rust didn’t finish Pittsburgh’s preseason finale Saturday, and the Penguins still aren’t saying why.
The 34-year-old winger took a shift early in the second period against Buffalo, pulled up about 20 seconds in, and skated straight to the bench. The Penguins announced he wouldn’t return to the game.
Head coach Dan Muse didn’t have much to add once the game wrapped. He said Rust was being evaluated and left it there, with no word yet on whether it’s an upper-body or lower-body issue.
Rust opened the night on a line with Ville Koivunen and Hendrix Lapierre. Take a look at how Pittsburgh lined up for the finale:
Sidney Crosby opened the scoring with a first-period slap shot, and Pittsburgh doubled its lead not long after. Rust drove hard to the net, the puck bounced out front, and Koivunen poked it home to make it 2-0. Here’s the goal:
That was Rust’s last real involvement before he left for good. The Penguins held on to win 3-1 and close out the preseason with a split.
Pittsburgh didn’t need this. The team is already managing Ben Kindel’s lower-body injury, along with Blake Lizotte and Justin Brazeau, both sidelined for most of camp. Now Rust joins that group with the regular season three days out.
He’s not a name Pittsburgh can afford to lose for long. Rust has topped 20 goals in each of the last seven seasons and has spent much of his career skating in Sidney Crosby’s top six. This preseason, coaches had shifted him down to bolster the third line, and he had an assist on Koivunen’s goal to show for it before the injury hit.
Wednesday’s regular-season opener at Philadelphia is three days away, and whether Rust can play in it is now the biggest question left in Pittsburgh’s camp.
