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The questions about the Penguins’ opening night roster took a turn on Thursday morning with the announcement that one of their top forwards won’t be a part of it due to injury.
Rust has appeared in one preseason game so far and was active in practices/scrimmages until recently. Being out two weeks “minimum” means that he can go on the IR, which only has a seven day minimum stay. That means Rust won’t count against the 23 players that Pittsburgh will name to their opening night roster, due on Monday.
That’s good news for players like Avery Hayes and Tristan Broz who have turned in impressive preseason performances and are looking to make their respective NHL debuts. It’s also probably good news for veterans like Danton Heinen and Noel Acciari, who now have an open slot to work with that the team wouldn’t have otherwise had with full health.
Rust’s absence opens the door that much further for Ville Koivunen to start the season in a scoring line role either with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin as his center. Without Rust, the Pens still have Rickard Rakell and Anthony Mantha in the mix, and several others like Heinen and Justin Brazeau have spent time playing with Malkin in camp as potential stand-ins. Hayes played with Crosby’s line in the previous game to some success, setting the captain up for a goal. The Pens have plenty of options now that the board has opened up a little bit further with the news that Rust will be out for the start of the season.
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