The Penguins are, though, certainly well within the realm of a precarious spot. If this makes the Penguins’ current situation seem dire, well … that might be too strong of a word. That’s 46 goals, compared to 19 from every other forward. Bryan : Excessive rainfall is caus- ing it to shed badly some complaints of rust. He has 10 goals, joining Malkin and Guentzel, and Crosby has scored 16. rust in some localities but not to such an extent as to lessen the. The Penguins were in trouble with scoring depth before Rust went down. He was demoted to the third line in the Penguins’ loss to the Lightning in Tampa on Wednesday. Reilly Smith, one of Dubas’ big offseason acquisitions, had scored all six of his goals in four games and was without a tally in his past 15 games. Rickard Rakell, who is out with an injury but should return this month, did not score a goal when he went down. He’d probably want a player that fits into his long-term vision of the Penguins, and nobody knows but Dubas what that vision includes.Īlso, an argument could be made the Penguins needed a top-six winger before Rust’s injury. But top-six forwards are costly, the Penguins lack top prospects to entice potential trade partners and Dubas isn’t likely to give up what he does have in the system on just a replacement for Rust. General manager Kyle Dubas probably will look to use that space on a winger who can potentially help. The Penguins will gain cap relief if Rust is placed on LTIR, but that hasn’t happened as of Monday. There might not be many externally given the uniqueness of Rust’s skill set. Rob Rossi, Penguins senior writer Who are replacement options? After a few days of evaluation, Mike Sullivan announced on Monday that the. So if not indispensable, he might be irreplaceable - at least with one player.Īnd that player would probably have to come from outside the organization. Bryan Rust left after the second period of Pittsburgh’s game in Tampa on Wednesday, Dec. He can score goals and has a history of scoring big ones, but he’s also able to play a role - like, best player on a third line - if needed. He is a penalty killer and a power-play option. Rust, however, provides a multitude of elements the Penguins cannot replace easily. Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are indispensable. A better question might be “Could the Penguins make a playoff run without Rust?” - and that answer, if not a hard “No,” is “Not likely.” Yes, but that has more to do with the state of the Eastern Conference, where every team can still realistically think about qualifying as a wild card. Can the Penguins make the Stanley Cup playoffs without Rust? Rust has 10 goals and 20 points in 22 games this season and is part of arguably the NHL’s best line, as the trio of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Rust have thrived this season. The 31-year-old was off to arguably the finest start of his career. Los Angeles tied it 3-3 at 6:40 when Fiala beat Crosby to a rebound and scored with a backhand after Hellberg made back-to-back saves.Rust was originally injured in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. Eller stole the puck in the neutral zone, skated down the right side and then cut into the slot before beating Copley with a wrist shot.Ĭrosby fed Guentzel for a backdoor goal off a rush 37 seconds into the third period to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead. The Penguins tied it 2-2 with 1:57 left in the second period on a short-handed goal. Kempe scored short side off a rush with a wrist shot from the left circle to give Los Angeles a 2-1 lead at 9:58 of the second period. Kopitar's assist gave him 1,155 points in his NHL career, moving him past Luc Robitaille for No. The Kings tied it 1-1 at 14:14 of the first when Grundstrom scored short-handed just as a Pittsburgh power play ended.Īnze Kopitar beat Karlsson to a puck that was dumped into the Penguins' zone, and he fed Grunstrom for the one-timer following a mistimed shift change by Pittsburgh. It was also the 557th goal of Crosby's NHL career, moving him into a tie for ninth place in the NHL history for the most goals with the same team.
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