Penguins forward Bryan Rust gets hat trick in return from injury
Like all of his teammates, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust had a long holiday break before Sunday’s 8-5 win at home against the San Jose Sharks.
There was one point of distinction for Rust’s respite, however.
The holiday.
Almost all of the Penguins had not played since before Christmas.
For Rust, he had not stepped on the ice for a game of consequence prior to Thanksgiving.
Sidelined after suffering an undisclosed injury Nov. 24, Rust was activated from injured reserve Sunday morning and returned to his customary role as the right winger on the top line.
Limited to two goals through his first 12 games of the season, Rust rebounded with a three-goal outburst Sunday for his fifth career hat trick. His second goal, scored at 19 minutes, 32 seconds of the first period, proved to be the winning score.
“It (stinks) being out, it does,” said Rust, who had a career-best five points Sunday. “I was just happy to be back in the lineup out there, playing again and being around the guys and doing all that. To have the (game) that I did was just kind of the cherry on top. I was hoping I’d be able to come right in and make an impact.
“I was happy that I did.”
Sunday’s contest was only the seventh game this season in which the team’s typical top line of Rust, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel was fully assembled. Injuries and/or illness to all three have limited their common ice time.
Including a first period goal by Guentzel, who was also activated from injured reserve prior to the game, that trio had a hand in half of the Penguins’ season-best eight goals.
“(Rust) brings that element of speed to that line that, I think, helps those two guys,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “And I think the other two guys help him with how they think the game and their ability to hang onto pucks and make those small little plays in traffic that allow them to create opportunities for themselves. (Rust) is complementary with some of the attributes that he brings to the table.”
Rodrigues continues to roll
Forward Evan Rodrigues, who served as the team’s second-line center Sunday, recorded his first career hat trick.
With 13 goals, he continues to establish a career-best for goals. And with 26 points, he is two short of tying his career-high.
He’s come a long way since being a frequent healthy scratch for the woebegone Buffalo Sabres in 2019-20.
“I’ve always believed that I had the ability,” said Rodrigues, who was activated Saturday from the NHL’s list for covid-19 protocol. “I’ve always believed in my talent. I’ve had good years throughout my career. Coming into this year and playing significant minutes right off the bat … I had a good start and from there, I just kind of knew that I could do it. I was finally just starting to roll it over. I’ve continued to get that ice time, continued to get that opportunity. Now, just for me, coming into every day trying to do the right things and continuing to play the way I am.”
The Penguins had two players record a hat trick in the same game for the eighth time in franchise history. The most recent occurence came during a 9-2 home win at the Mellon Arena against the New York Islanders on Dec. 11, 2008. Forwards Pascal Dupuis and Petr Sykora each scored three goals in that contest.
Four recalled from taxi squad
The Penguins made a series of procedural transactions before the game.
• Forwards Anthony Angello, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Radim Zohorna and goaltender Louis Domingue were promoted from the taxi squad. All four players were recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) over the past week.
Bjorkqvist and Zohorna each played Sunday while Domingue served as the backup goaltender to Casey DeSmith. Angello was a healthy scratch.
Making his NHL debut, Bjorkqvist manned the fourth line scored his first career goal while logging 8:54 of ice time on 13 shifts.
Zohorna made his season debut and recorded the primary assist on Bjorkqvist’s goal while clocking 8:27 of ice time on 13 shifts.
• Forward Teddy Blueger was activated from the covid-19 protocols list. After skating for the first time Sunday morning since being placed into protocols, he was scratched for the game, the first he has missed all season.
• Forward Brian Boyle has been given a non-roster designation for personal reasons. According to the team, he welcomed a newborn son on Sunday.
• Forward Jason Zucker’s designation to injured reserve was made retroactive to Dec. 19. The team initially placed him on injured reserve Tuesday with an undisclosed injury.
• Forwards Jeff Carter, Kasperi Kapanen and goaltender Tristan Jarry were formally removed from the active roster. All three are in protocols for covid-19.
• Attendance was listed as 18,066, just short of a sellout (18,187). It was the second-largest home crowd of the season following a standing room sellout for the home opener (18,420), a 5-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 16.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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