Todd Reirden said Friday that Bryan Rust was someone who "you don't realize how good he really is" until he's missing from the lineup.
After being sidelined for the last seven games with a lower-body injury sustained from a hit in the Penguins' second game of the season on Oct. 14, Rust made his return to the Penguins' lineup on Saturday in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Wild at PPG Paints Arena.
It didn't look like he had missed a beat.
Rust returned to the top line alongside Jeff Carter and Jake Guentzel, and ranked No. 3 among Penguins forwards in ice time, skating in 18:08 in the loss. He said that physically he felt "alright," adding that he noticed a little "minor tweaks" as he re-adjusted to game action. If he wasn't feeling 100 percent, it wasn't evident in his play.
With the Penguins leading 2-1 in the second period, Rust and Guentzel traded some quick passes, allowing getting Joel Eriksson Ek spun around, allowing Guentzel to get open for the shot:
In the third period, Rust picked up another primary helper with this cross-ice feed to Kasperi Kapanen just as a power play expired:
"He looked great," Kapanen said of Rust's play. "It's never easy missing games and being out like that. Rusty's a key player for us, and I thought he played pretty well today."
Rust certainly had chances to score one of his own, though he wasn't able to convert. He led the Penguins in shot attempts (eight), shots on goal (six), scoring chances (five) and high-danger shot attempts (three). His best chance came in the second period, when he was denied by Cam Talbot on a breakaway attempt:
Rust was one of two Penguins players -- the other being Guentzel -- to score on their shootout attempts. Rust shot third for the Penguins and beat Talbot glove-side, before Kirill Kaprizov scored to force a fourth and final round of the shootout in which Nick Bjugstad would score the game-winner.
Rust was a little critical of his performance in his first game back, but thought that it was a good first step back for him.
"The game comes at you faster when you don't play it for a while," he said. "I thought as the game went on I got a better feel for it. Obviously it wasn't perfect, but it was a game to build on for me."
Reirden had praise for Rust's play in his return.
"He made some plays and was able to contribute offensively and still be as dependable as he usually is defensively," Reirden said. "First game in awhile for him, so I think now it'll just be a process of him continuing to improve every night."
Aside from what Rust contributed on the ice, Reirden said that just having his presence back in the locker room is a boost itself.
"Bryan brings so much to our team," Reirden said. "Just his leadership in the room, a two-time Stanley Cup winner, his presence alone. He's become such a big part of who we are organizationally, so it's great to have him back in there."
PENGUINS
Bryan Rust with his son Hunter and wife Kelsey in warmups.
