Pittsburgh will be without Bryan Rust for an extended stretch, with the Penguins expecting to reassess the veteran winger in six weeks after he suffered a lower-body injury in Utah.
- Rust was injured during the second period of Pittsburgh’s 5-4 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Monday. He left the game with 5:01 remaining in the frame after recording two assists alongside Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell on the top line.
- The 34-year-old was placed on injured reserve Thursday. Rust had already missed Pittsburgh’s opening three games because of an upper-body issue.
- Rookie forward Ben Kindel also went on injured reserve after briefly losing consciousness following a vasovagal syncope episode shortly after the team’s flight left Salt Lake City on Tuesday. The condition involves a sudden decline in heart rate and blood pressure, reducing blood flow to the brain.
- Forwards Rutger McGroarty and Hendrix Lapierre, along with defenseman Chase Pietila, are among the available depth options. McGroarty and Pietila were recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
- At the morning skate, Tommy Novak shifted from second-line center to the left side of Crosby’s line. Rakell moved to right wing.
- Lapierre skated in Novak’s former spot at second-line center, while Blake Lizotte filled Kindel’s place as the third-line center.
- Coach Dan Muse did not lock in his final alignment before warmups, saying the club was still working through the loss of two forwards who began the previous game.
- Rust has three goals and two assists in seven games this season. In 717 NHL games, the two-time Stanley Cup winner has 235 goals, 272 assists and 507 points.
- After opening the season with two wins, Pittsburgh has gone 1-6-1 over its past eight outings. The Penguins have surrendered five or more goals in each of their last four defeats.
What it means against Florida
The Penguins host the Florida Panthers at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET without Rust and Kindel, forcing another early-season shuffle around Crosby and through the middle six.
Muse said the morning combinations were a working template rather than a final card. “I won’t confirm anything until we get to the game, but they’re definitely options,” he said. “When two forwards who started the last game are unavailable, you have to shuffle things around and try to find the right balance.”
The immediate test is whether Novak can help keep the first line moving from the left side while Lapierre handles the second-line center assignment. Lizotte’s move into the third-line pivot spot also becomes significant for a team trying to stop a four-game defensive slide.
“We’ll see what it looks like at puck drop,” Muse said. “It’s a starting point, and we’ll go from there.”
