Bryan Rust looked different Friday. At least compared to the last time he played in a game for the Penguins.

He had a mustache.

In recognition of “Movember,” an initiative that raises awareness for men’s health, Rust has engaged fellow forward Jason Zucker in a competition to grow the best “duster.”

T-shirts with either Rust’s or Zucker’s likeness can be purchased, and the results of the sales will determine the “winner.”

“As far as my campaign strategy, it’s pretty much, do you like me better?” Rust said. “Or do you like (Zucker) better?”

On the ice, Penguins management is feeling better about Rust’s status after Friday’s practice. Skating in a full-contact capacity for the first time since he suffered an undisclosed injury Oct. 14, Rust manned his typical spot on the right wing of the top line. He also worked on the team’s top power-play unit.

Officially, his status for Saturday’s home game against the Minnesota Wild remains uncertain. But it’s certainly optimistic.

“(Friday) was a big day for him, to be able to go through a full-contact practice,” assistant coach Todd Reirden said. “We’ll have him talk it over (Saturday morning) with our trainers and make the decision that puts him in the best position to have success. We liked a lot of what we saw today. He’ll be a game-time (decision) for us (Saturday).”

Rust was injured during a 5-4 overtime road loss to the Florida Panthers. Early in the third period, he entered the offensive zone and tried to cut inside Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, only to end up on the wrong end of a violent check.

“Tried to go to the inside,” Rust said. “He read me really well, caught me with a real nice hit. And just kind of had an awkward collision and ended up getting hurt. Just unfortunate.”

The timing of the injury — it was the Penguins’ second game of the season — wasn’t terribly fortunate in Rust’s summation, either.

“Concentrate all summer, work hard and get your body right then have an unfortunate injury,” Rust said. “I’ve done a pretty good job here trying to get myself back in shape. The strength and conditioning staff, they’ve done an amazing job of making sure that as I progress here in my rehab, that I’m feeling good with everything.”

A 20-goal scorer in each of the last two seasons — each limited to less than a customary 82 games because of the pandemic — Rust realizes he’ll need to ease back into things when he returns to the lineup.

“Just probably try to keep it simple early on,” Rust said. “Obviously, the game happens fast out there. It’s only getting faster as the year goes on. For me, only have played one and two-thirds games of a season, just kind of getting out there, working hard, keeping things simple and just go from there.”

Rust’s potential return could come at a fairly vulnerable time for the Penguins. This week, they’ve seen defensemen Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel, forward Sidney Crosby and even coach Mike Sullivan be waylaid after testing positive for covid-19.

“There isn’t any pressure for myself or anybody else to get back out there. In terms of things with (covid-19) and guys missing for that reason, it’s really unfortunate,” Rust said. “Obviously, we’ve lost, now, a coach and a ton of very important players. But it’s something that we came into this year, we came into last year … with this virus being around. Expect the unexpected. Know that adversity is coming our way. It’s something that we planned for.

“Obviously, it’s hitting pretty hard right now, but we’ve got to expect that these things can and will happen.”

Everyone with a rooting interest in the Penguins, including his “rival,” is hoping something good will happen with Rust on Saturday.

“He’s a huge catalyst for our team,” Zucker said. “Obviously, a great locker room guy (and) a fantastic player. It’s great to have him back and to fill out the right side for us a little bit more. We hope to have him back rather sooner than later.”

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