Rust Continuing to Be Evaluated; Smith Moves Up with Crosby

The Penguins got on a plane and flew to Vancouver immediately after their 7-6 win over the Flyers on Sunday.

Bryan Rust, who was injured shortly before Drew O’Connor’s goal at the 6:41 mark of the third period, did not travel with the team.

When asked if there was a chance the Penguins winger could join them at some point during their four-game western Canada road swing, Mike Sullivan said that is to be determined.

“He’s continuing to be evaluated. I’ll give you more when I find out,” the Penguins Head Coach said.

Jake Guentzel did make the trip and took the ice for some individual work after the official portion of Monday’s practice wrapped up. He’s not eligible to come off of long-term injured reserve until March 10, but “it's a big step when they get on the ice,” Sullivan said. “Just means they're that much closer, so it's great to see him out there.”

Rust and Guentzel have been huge driving forces behind Pittsburgh’s offense this year. Rust scored twice in the victory over Philadelphia to give him seven goals in his last nine games, and he’s two away from hitting 20 for a fifth consecutive season (with just 42 games played).

Meanwhile, Guentzel still ranks second behind Sidney Crosby in goals (22) and points (52) despite missing the last five games after getting injured on Feb. 14 versus Florida.

Fortunately, other players have been stepping up to help carry the load – and the captain continues to be his incredible ageless self. He put up four points and was named the game’s First Star against Philadelphia.

With Rust absent, Reilly Smith moved up to Crosby’s right wing while Rickard Rakell – who broke a 15-game goalless drought last night – remained on his left.

“Well, we think Reilly is a really talented player, he's got a high hockey IQ, I think he has the ability to play the game that Sid likes to play,” Sullivan said. “He has some finish to him. He's played in the high stakes environment, I think he potentially can be a real good fit there. So, that's one option that we discussed. We discussed many (smiles). That was the one that we think right now is the best fit for our team with where we're at.”

“He’s just really smart,” Crosby said. “Good in every area. Sees the ice well, got good hands, can shoot it and he’s really responsible defensively as well. He’s played in pretty much every situation, so I think he’ll be pretty comfortable.”

For a large portion of this year, Smith played alongside Pittsburgh’s other franchise superstar center. The veteran forward, acquired from the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights in the offseason, said not much changes when he’s with Crosby versus Evgeni Malkin.

“Obviously, Sid’s been a big driving force for our offense this year, so try to get him the puck,” Smith said. “But for me, a lot of things don't change, and just try to come in with the same mindset and try to be effective.”

Smith has two goals in nine games since returning from an injury of his own, and had been struggling a little bit with consistency prior to getting sidelined. As for how he would evaluate his game now, “I think every game I try to come up with the same approach and try to be effective and work in all three zones,” Smith said.

“There's always things you can do better and I think that changes on a game-to-game basis. But for me, it's just coming in with the right mindset and try to elevate my game every night.”

Jesse Puljujarvi, who’s sat out the last three games since signing a contract with the Penguins after a free-agent invite following double hip surgery, was the player who slotted in up top.

“I know it's a big surgery for sure. Coming back (to) the big league’s not gonna be easy,” Puljujarvi said. “Been trying to work every day hard, and give my best every game. I know it’s a process, and doing good.”

Matthew Phillips, recently claimed off of waivers from Washington, was the extra forward. Here was the full Penguins workflow from today:

Rakell-Crosby-Smith

O’Connor-Malkin-Puustinen

Bemstrom-Eller-Puljujarvi

Harkins-Acciari-Carter

Joseph-Letang

Pettersson-Karlsson

Graves-Ruhwedel

(Ludvig-Phillips)