Rust continues 'torrid' pace in rout of Flyers

PHILADELPHIA -- Bryan Rust was asked after Wednesday's game in Pittsburgh against the Blues what led to his successful first two games after returning from his lower-body injury, having scored a combined five goals in those two games

"Those extra practices that I got in with the postponed games, I think that helped a lot," he said. "I think just being able to get those reps and get that chemistry back with my line, get that confidence back, shooting the puck, making plays, things like that, I think that did go a long way."

Two consecutive multi-goal games is certainly noteworthy. Three consecutive multi-goal games qualifies as a hot streak. Rust made it three multi-goal games in a row with his two-goal performance in the Penguins' 6-2 win over the Flyers here in Philadelphia on Thursday. With the way the Penguins' top line of Rust, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel is just clicking right now, and the way Rust in particular is putting up the points the way he is, there's no reason to believe this offensive explosion can't continue.

Rust opened the scoring in Thursday's game with a power play goal. Rust finished a feed from Kris Letang with this shot from just above the goal line:

He doubled the Penguins' lead two and a half minutes later. Evan Rodrigues' initial shot was blocked, and Rust swept in and picked up the loose puck, firing it past Carter Hart:

With an assist on Guentzel's third-period goal, Rust had a three-point night. He's scored seven goals and 11 points in his last three games. He nearly completed the hat trick in this game too, with a shot that rang off the crossbar late in the second period.

Equipment manager Paul DeFazio, in charge of choosing the recipient of the MVP "Bold Penguin" helmet for this game after he received it himself last game in recognition of his 1,500th game, said it best when he said Rust could have had the helmet three games in a row now:

Rust is doing so many things well, there's no consensus on any one element of his game that's allowing him to put up these points.

Guentzel called Rust's play right now just "confident hockey," and pointed to speed as a big contributing factor in his success.

"He's playing at a high pace right now," Guentzel said. "It's just fun to watch him and to be a part of it. I think for me, when he's shooting like that and playing with his speed, he can be one of the better players in this league."

Letang praised Rust's well-rounded play.

"He's a guy that plays well on both sides of the game, defensively offensively," Letang said. "He's got great speed and a great shot. For a guy like Sid, they complement each other pretty well. He knows how to apply pressure there on the puck, and for some reason right now, the puck is pretty attracted to him."

Mike Sullivan said that Rust's offensive outburst has just been a product of "playing the game the right way."

"When he does (play the right way), he's getting good looks, and he's been able to finish on them," Sullivan said. "He's been on a torrid pace here the last few games, which is great for him. It's great for our team. I just think when he utilizes his speed, and he hunts pucks, and he hangs onto pucks, and he takes what the game gives him out there, I think he gets a number of opportunities. He's getting a lot of looks every night, and he's finishing on them."

Rust was asked once again on Thursday what he credits his success to, and he again credited increased confidence and his chemistry with his linemates.

"I've just been trying to go out there, work hard, and do my thing," he added.

That hard work is paying off, for both Rust and the Penguins.

MORE FROM THE GAME

• The Penguins' 10-game winning streak is now the longest in the NHL this season.

• Guentzel scored the game's third goal in the first period, and he wasn't even aware of it until there was a review. He put it into Hart's glove, and after a video replay, it was clear that the puck was well over the net within Hart's glove.

"I actually didn't think it was in," Guentzel said. "He made a nice save on the first one with the pad, then I hit the post. Then I wasn't too sure. I think the guys on the bench kind of had a feeling, but just close up there I wasn't really sure."

With that goal, Guentzel now has points in his last 16 games. 

• Cam Atkinson scored the lone goal of the second period to get the Flyers on the board. John Marino tried to swat a puck out of the air with his glove in the neutral zone but missed, leading to a 2-on-1 with Atkinson and Joel Farabee against Brian Dumoulin.

• Rodrigues continues to reach new heights with every passing game. I have no words for his latest goal, his 15th of the season. It came off of a great pass from Kasperi Kapanen in the third period:

• There was no missing Guentzel's second goal of the game, a breakaway set up by Crosby and Rust:

• Brian Boyle made it a 6-1 game with a shorthanded goal off a feed from Marino:

"Goalies are good, you've got to learn different ways to shoot," he said afterward of his goal.

• Oskar Lindblom scored with seven minutes remaining, roofing the puck over the glove of Tristan Jarry.

• Jarry, playing in his second game in as many nights after starting tonight and coming in in relief of Casey DeSmith in the second period of Wednesday's game, made 18 saves on 20 shots.

• Kasper Bjorkqvist hasn't scored in these last two games like he did in his debut, but I thought he's still been noticeable in his fourth-line role. I really like seeing him in a net-front role on his line. He's so strong on his feet, and doesn't seem fazed when he's taking a beating from someone like Keith Yandle in the crease. Bjorkqvist's been on a line with Boyle and Dominik Simon these last two games, and Boyle had high praise for Bjorkqvist when I asked for his impressions after the game.

"He's great communicator, actually," Boyle said. "He does talk a lot on the ice. He's a great player. He's a north-south guy, he's got a great defensive conscience. With our role, we fit pretty well together, and you have some speed and skill with Dom. It's an easy fit. By nature of how this season's gone, you play with a number of different guys, and he gets called up and he's played a few games. He's done really well. He's done what he's asked, and as a centerman, he's easy to read off of. He's great support. We have to make really high percentage plays, our line. I think we did that to start the game with our shifts. When we got a chance to get out there, we get it in their end and try to create stuff and he's a big part of that. He forechecks hard, he plays a hard game, he's a big, strong kid. It's a lot of fun playing with a guy like that."

• Chad Ruhwedel led the team in hits, with five.

• Rodrigues led in shots, with five.

• Mike Matheson and Dumoulin tied for the most blocked shots, with four apiece.

• Jeff Carter was a "game-time decision" this morning, but the coaching staff decided to keep him out tonight because he's not physically ready for a return yet after the symptoms he had while in COVID protocol. 

"He's real close," Sullivan said of Carter before the game. "He's coming out of COVID protocol, he was symptomatic. The guys that have had symptoms take a little bit longer to get them to the point where their conditioning, their energy level, their fine motor skills are where they need to be to set them up for success. He was a game-time decision. He skated this morning. We had a conversation with him and we just made a decision that we think it's best that he gets another couple of practices before we put him in, but he's real close."

• Pure class from the captain: 

• The Flyers' second intermission entertainment was this Flyers logo bouncing around the screen like a DVD screensaver. Big groans every time it looked like it was going to be a direct hit into the corner then missed, and big applause from the crowd every time it did hit.

• Farabee was straight up not having a good time:

• Crosby still lives rent free in the heads of Flyers fans. He got a secondary assist on Rust's opening goal and the announcement of his assist drew more boos than the part of the announcement about the goal.

• I asked Sullivan before the game for his thoughts on the Alex Nylander trade, you can read more about that here.

• Before the game, Penguins director of player development Scott Young was named to Team USA's coaching staff for the Olympics. More on that here.

• Penguins hockey operations advisor and former defenseman Trevor Daley, who retired following the 2019-20 season, signed an ECHL contract with the Florida Everblades on Thursday. He remains in his role with the Penguins, and is only expected to play a couple of games at most. More on that here.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics

THE THREE STARS

As selected at Wells Fargo Center:

1. Bryan Rust, Penguins
2. Jake Guentzel, Penguins
3. Tristan Jarry, Penguins

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES, ILLNESSES

• Forward Evgeni Malkin is still recovering from his offseason knee surgery. He expects to play on the Penguins upcoming western road trip.

• Forward Jason Zucker is dealing with an undisclosed lower-body injury and is out week-to-week. He was put on injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 19. He started skating on his own this week.

• Forward Jeff Carter was added to the COVID protocol Jan. 1. He has been cleared to come out of protocol since Wednesday, but is taking a little longer to return to the lineup because he was symptomatic.

• Forward Drew O'Connor tested positive for COVID on Tuesday and was added to COVID protocol.

THE LINEUPS

Sullivan’s lines and pairings:

Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Evan Rodrigues - Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Aston-Reese - Teddy Blueger - Brock McGinn
Kasper Bjorkqvist - Brian Boyle - Dominik Simon

Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - John Marino
Mike Matheson - Chad Ruhwedel

And for Mike Yeo's Flyers:

Joel Farabee - Scott Laughton - Cam Atkinson
Derick Brassard - Morgan Frost - James van Riemsdyk
Connor Bunnaman - Kevin Hayes - Max Willman
Oskar Lindblom - Patrick Brown - Zack MacEwan

Cam York - Justin Braun
Yegor Zamula - Rasmus Ristolainen
Keith Yandle - Kevin Connauton

THE SCHEDULE

The Penguins were scheduled to practice in Dallas on Friday but canceled the practice after the game. They'll play the Stars on Saturday at 2 p.m. Eastern.

THE CONTENT

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