Penguins Notes: Rust, Bunting, Nieto
10/28/2024 03:54 PM
The Penguins were without winger Bryan Rust at practice today, per Josh Getzoff of SportsNet Pittsburgh. Head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed that Rust is being evaluated for a lower-body injury he sustained against the Canucks on Saturday, and there’s no timeline for his return to the ice yet (via Michelle Crechiolo of Pens Inside Scoop).
Rust, 32, left the weekend loss to Vancouver after getting his right leg tangled up awkwardly with Canucks winger Nils Höglander. It’s been a mediocre start to the campaign for the five-time 20-goal scorer, who’s been limited to three goals and an assist in eight games with a -7 rating. But he’s still averaging 19:20 per game – that’s second-most among Pittsburgh forwards and, correspondingly, a large hole to fill for a team short on forward depth if he misses any extended time.
Almost no Penguin has started the season as they’d like to, aside from a handful of exceptions – namely Evgeni Malkin, who’s turned back the clock with 14 points in 10 games. But it’s been especially difficult for Rust, who also missed the season’s first two games with a separate lower-body injury. If he can’t play tomorrow against the Wild, Cody Glass is the extra forward on hand and will return to the lineup after missing the Canucks game with an illness.
Other items of note out of Pittsburgh:
- One of this season’s biggest disappointments so far has been winger Michael Bunting. Acquired from the Hurricanes near the tail end of last year as arguably the highest-value part of the return for Jake Guentzel, he’s fallen completely flat with just one assist in nine games. He’s already been a healthy scratch once in 2024-25, and Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports the Penguins organization as a whole is “very unhappy” with his performance. It’s a completely unforeseen drop-off after he ended last season with 19 points in 21 games for the Pens, mainly playing alongside the red-hot Malkin.
- Winger Matthew Nieto returned to practice today for the first time since sustaining a knee injury that ended his 2023-24 season all the way back in November, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Nieto, 32 next week, underwent laparoscopic surgery on his left knee shortly after the New Year but suffered a setback that required him to undergo a reconstructive MCL procedure in May. After inking a two-year, $1.8MM deal in free agency in 2023, Nieto had a goal and three assists in 22 appearances for Pittsburgh before the season-ending injury.
