Rust's two goals help Penguins top Wild

PITTSBURGH -- Bryan Rust scored twice to give him eight goals in six games, and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Minnesota Wild 2-1 at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

Casey DeSmith made 40 saves for the Penguins (17-12-6), who won for the seventh time in 10 games (7-2-1).
Rust tied it 1-1 in the first period after Jordan Greenway opened the scoring for the Wild. He made it 2-1 with his second goal in the third period.
WATCH: [All Wild vs. Penguins highlights]
After scoring at least one goal in each of his past four games, Rust has nine goals in 35 games this season. He had one goal in his first 29.
As for how to explain the run he is on, Rust said, "I have no clue. I also don't know how to explain the one in 29 to start the year. So sometimes that's how hockey goes. ... I think if you just kind of stick to the process when things aren't going your way, and I just think you have to stay positive, keep working hard and simplify, things will happen."
The Wild (17-15-2) lost their third straight game and are 3-8-0 in their past 11.

"If we could've come away with this one, I think it would've turned it around," Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said. "I thought once we got that first goal, it started getting us going and then it took a little out of our sails when we gave them their first goal. I thought we came back in the second period, and we took it to them again.
"A couple of our guys that are supposed to be our scorers have pucks right on their stick and don't put it in. It's frustrating."
Pittsburgh won each game of a back-to-back that included a 2-1 victory at the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. He started for the ninth time in 11 games and made at least 32 saves for a third straight start.
"Obviously, [the game against the Capitals] was a really spirited and hard-hitting, hard-fought game," DeSmith said. "Obviously we played great last night, and we followed it up with a great game tonight. I can't speak to how tired [my teammates] were, but I imagine it was pretty grueling for them. To hold a team like that to one goal at home on a back-to-back, it says a lot about a lot of these guys' character."
Devan Dubnyk made 35 saves for Minnesota. He has lost three straight starts and seven of his past 10.

"If you haven't won in a couple games, obviously it hurts a little more," Dubnyk said. "You might squeeze a little more trying to get the tying goal. We talked about it before, those are things you try not to let change what you're doing. ... I thought we played a very, very good hockey game tonight. So if we can replicate that every game, we're certainly going to be winning a lot more than we're losing."
Greenway put the Wild ahead 1-0 at 7:13 of the first period on a snap shot from high in the left face-off circle. It was his second goal in three games after he had one in his previous nine.
Rust tied it at 13:30 after Dubnyk retrieved the puck behind his net and sent a pass toward the far wall that Jake Guentzel intercepted. Guentzel passed out front to Rust, who tapped it into an open net.
After Guentzel forced Greg Pateryn into a turnover behind the net, he again found Rust in front for a snap shot that made it 2-1 at 8:12 of the third.

They said it

"I thought we initiated pretty well right away. I thought we were on our toes. Their kid (DeSmith) played pretty good in the net. He was solid. At the end of the day, you have to find ways to score goals. Right now, it seems like we're not doing that. It's costing us games." -- Wild center Eric Staal
"I thought our guys came with a lot of energy. We tried to use the bench as best we could and keep our shifts short. I thought the players made good decisions with the puck. They didn't overstay their shifts. ... I give them a lot of credit. They played hard tonight." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan

Need to know

Penguins defenseman Jamie Oleksiak did not play after sustaining a concussion in the first period against the Capitals on Wednesday. Juuso Riikola entered the lineup on a defense pair with Olli Maatta. ... Pittsburgh forward Dominik Simon returned from missing eight games with a lower-body injury. He played second-line left wing with center Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel. … The Wild allowed two goals or fewer for the fourth time in five games. They also scored one goal or fewer for a third straight game.

What's next

Wild: Host the Dallas Stars on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-SW+, KTXA, NHL.TV)
Penguins: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)