The moment Bryan Rust will probably stew over from the Penguins’ 5-2 win over the Sharks Tuesday occurred late in the third period, when he had the chance to complete a hat trick.
Rust fired the puck, knew it probably wasn’t going to go where he wanted it to go, but still tried in vain anyway.
Clank. Crossbar.
“As soon as it left my stick, I was like, ‘Oh, please stay down.’ ” Rust said. “And it didn’t.
“I don’t think I’m going to hear the end of that one for awhile.”
Teammates will probably give Rust some good-natured grief over that one — fans threw hats on the PPG Paints Arena ice, for crying out loud — but what he’s been doing lately should make the ribbing easier to take.
In three games since returning from an upper-body injury, Rust has been terrific.
Rust had a season-high three points against San Jose, his first multipoint effort of the season, and literally came within inches of his first hat trick since Dec. 5, 2016 against Ottawa.
“He deserved the hat trick there,” Matt Murray said. “I felt bad for him. That was probably his best game all year. He knows that. He’s a huge player for us. He showed up big tonight.”
What Rust has brought has been something the Penguins have really needed — legitimate offense from the fourth line.
He, Jean-Sebastien Dea and Tom Kuhnhackl have been terrific together, as evidenced by Rust’s second goal.
Kuhnhackl flicked a Sidney Crosby-like pass between his legs — on the backhand, no less — and Rust had no problem with the finish.
“Unbelievable,” Rust said of the highlight-reel feed. “As soon as he got it on his stick, I knew I was by myself. I was screaming as loud as I could. He’s a skilled player. I’m not surprised.”
“I’m just glad it went through,” Kuhnhackl said. “He’s a goal-scorer there.”
Rust wasn’t a goal-scorer earlier this season.
Although he was injured, Rust produced just four goals in his first 40 games this season compared to 11 through that many in 2016-17.
“There were a stretch of games this year where I might not have been playing as well as I would have liked,” Rust said. “Kind of was fighting it a little bit. I guess being hurt [he missed 11 games with an upper-body injury] gave me a chance to reset just a little bit. Kind of found my game a little bit.”
Has found a couple of linemates, too.
Rust, Dea and Kuhnhackl played together with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2015-16, before Rust and Kuhnhackl became permanent parts of the Penguins.
Knowing how each other plays, and what each likes to do, has been key, they’ve said. It also doesn’t hurt to have a speed element (Rust) mixed with some size and grit (Kuhnhackl) on either side of a smart center (Dea).
“I think we’re just doing our job right,” Kuhnhackl said. “We have to make sure we use Rusty’s speed. J.S. is a very smart centerman who works hard in our own end, in the offensive zone. I just try to play my game as good as I can.”
Some speed and skill was evident on Rust’s first goal.
Rust exited the offensive zone then re-entered with speed, shipped a pass to Riley Sheahan, then used his wheels to beat a pair of Sharks defenders.
Forehand, backhand, a little five-hole, and Rust beat Martin Jones, a very good goaltender.
“I haven’t been able to score as much as I would like this year,” Rust said. “It’s definitely something that I hope to build on.”
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan loves deploying Rust as sort of a Swiss Army Knife. Either wing. Any line. On the power play or penalty kill. Surprising Sullivan doesn’t have Rust play defense just for kicks.
The scoring, one would think, will come. Rust has done it, especially in the postseason and specifically in big games. But as he said, it hadn’t happened much in 2017-18. The midseason reset may have had a noticeable effect.
“I’m hoping [Tuesday], scoring two goals, certainly should be a big boost of confidence for him moving forward,” Sullivan said. “Hopefully he can continue to help us offensively because he’s very capable, as he’s shown for the last couple of seasons.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG
First Published: January 31, 2018, 4:41 a.m.
