DALLAS -- It was, Bryan Rust said, "probably not the smartest thing I could have done."
No, probably not.
Not in the final minutes of an exhibition game -- the final exhibition game, at that -- whose outcome was of absolutely no consequence to anyone.
But there are times when instinct and training override logic, and this was one of them.
So when the Penguins were killing a five-on-three power play and Sabres defenseman Colin Miller was preparing to launch a shot toward the Penguins' net, Rust didn't hesitate.
He put himself in front of Miller's shot, and got a piece of it.
A big enough piece that it broke Rust's left hand and put him on the Long-Term Injured Reserve list.
Rust sat out the first 11 games of the regular season, but is likely to return when the Penguins face the Stars Saturday at 8:08 p.m. at the American Airlines Center.
Nick Bjugstad, who was hurt in the second game of the season, figures to rejoin the lineup then, too.
Mike Sullivan said both will be "game-time decisions," which has become his default position in such matters, but clearly was optimistic about having them available after both participated in a vigorous workout Friday afternoon.
"They had a strong practice," Sullivan said, adding that "it certainly looked encouraging, watching them practice today."
The trade a short time later that sent defenseman Erik Gudbranson to Anaheim and, in the process, cleared a spot on the 23-man roster, added to the evidence that the Penguins are preparing for at least one of them to return.
So did having Rust and Bjugstad practice alongside Patric Hornqvist on the No. 2 line.
Alex Galchenyuk, who has missed the past eight games because of an unspecified lower-body injury, actually flew from Pittsburgh to Dallas to participate in the practice, too, although Sullivan said he will not play against the Stars.
"He's obviously getting real close," Sullivan said. "He's joined the team in practice. That's the reason we brought him out here, to get him around the team, to get him into team practices. The next step, obviously, would be the decision to put him back in a game."
Galchenyuk clearly expects that to happen soon.
"It's day-by-day right now," he said. "Once you start skating with the team, you feel like you're close to coming back."
Bjugstad feels close enough to returning that he spent some time Friday jostling around the net with Gudbranson, who is 6-foot-5, 217 pounds of toughness.
"He's a big boy," Bjugstad said. "That's a good one to go at it with a little bit in front of the net."
Although Bjugstad didn't enjoy being out of the lineup, he did like what he saw from the Penguins during his absence.
"These guys are playing the right way," he said. "That's something for me to jump into and have that mindset, the same mindset they've had. Even the games we've lost, I thought we've looked good. When you play well defensively and everyone has trust in one another, like they have, opportunities come."
The Penguins have been playing with the kind of commitment that is a staple of Rust's game, the mindset that prompted him to get in the way of a hard shot in a meaningless game.
Rust's mentality won't change, although his protective gear apparently will.
"I've been working with the equipment guys to put as much padding as I can, pretty much anywhere," he said.
Good idea, because blocking shots will continue to be part of his repertoire.
"I don't think I'd be here if I didn't do that," Rust said.
Even when it isn't the smartest thing he could do.
• In addition to the Rust-Bjugstad-Horqnvist line, the Penguins used these forward units in practice: Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Dominik Simon, Sam Lafferty-Jared McCann-Dominik Kahun and Zach Aston-Reese-Teddy Blueger-Brandon Tanev.
• Defenseman Brian Dumoulin, a late scratch for the Penguins' 3-0 loss to Vegas last Saturday because of an undisclosed injury, is not on the trip. The defense pairings in practice were John Marino-Kris Letang, Jack Johnson-Justin Schultz, Marcus Pettersson-Erik Gudbranson and Juuso Riikola-Chad Ruhwedel. One of the latter two likely will move into Gudbranson's spot with Pettersson Saturday.
• Galchenyuk said that he had a "really bad allergic reaction" while recovering from his injury, but added that "it wasn't official" that it was caused by a spider bite and that it had no affect on his rehabilitation.
• Adam Johnson did not participate in the practice and is still nursing an unspecified upper-body injury, Sullivan said.