Pittsburgh will be without Bryan Rust for the foreseeable future after the veteran winger was ruled out for at least six weeks with a lower-body injury.
Head coach Dan Muse said Thursday that Rust will be re-evaluated in six weeks, which pushes his absence into December. The injury happened during Monday’s 5-4 loss to the Utah Mammoth.
Rust had been producing early this season, with three goals and five points in seven games. He had also been logging important minutes, averaging 17:22 of ice time, including just 9:32 against Utah.
The 34-year-old has been a steady source of offense for Pittsburgh for a while now. Last season, he put up 29 goals and 65 points in 72 games, making it three straight seasons with at least 28 goals and 55 points.
He is signed through the 2027-28 season with a cap hit of $5.125 million.
Rust was placed on injured reserve Thursday, and he was joined there by Ben Kindel, who suffered a medical episode on the team’s flight home from Utah Monday. There was encouraging news on Kindel, though, with general manager Kyle Dubas saying Thursday that he could be back at practice as soon as Sunday.
To help cover the openings, Pittsburgh recalled forward Rutger McGroarty and defenceman Chase Pietila.
McGroarty has been hot in the AHL, producing four goals and nine points in six games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He also had three goals and six points in 24 games with Pittsburgh last season.
Pietila has two assists in five games with the AHL Penguins this year. The 2024 fourth-round pick has not yet played in an NHL game.
The Penguins are set to host the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
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The Penguins are already preparing to be without Kindel for at least a pair of home games, leaving a temporary hole in their lineup and another reminder of how quickly health can become the priority. A return to practice later in the week is still possible, but the next checkpoint for Pittsburgh will come when the team figures out whether he is ready to rejoin the lineup soon after. [Read more 🡒]