Penguins’ Bryan Rust activated from injured reserve following three-game absence

Pittsburgh Penguins veteran right winger Bryan Rust was activated from the injured reserve Tuesday following a three-game absence due to a lower-body ailment.

In all, the injury marked the fourth stretch Rust has been out of the Penguins’ lineup this season due to a lower-body concern, totaling 11 games. When healthy, Rust has made 48 appearances this season and has neared point-per-game production in registering 20 goals and 22 assists to sit third in team scoring. Rust has also recorded 14 penalty minutes and a minus-21 rating.

Originally chosen by Pittsburgh in the third round of the 2010 NHL Draft, the 32-year-old native of Pontiac, Mich., is skating in his 11th season with the Penguins, totaling 615 career contests in which he has tallied 192 goals and 222 assists for 414 points. With the Penguins last season, Rust put up 28 goals and 28 assists for 56 points, two shy of his career-high 58-point finish in 2021-22. Rust has also added 35 points counting 21 goals and 14 assists through 79 appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Facing the Nashville Predators in early February, Rust recorded his 20th goal of the season, marking the sixth-straight campaign in which he has reached the 20-goal plateau. Per PuckPedia, Rust is the third year of a six-year pact that carries a $5.125-million annual average value.

Rust rejoins a Penguins squad that sits second-to-last in the Eastern Conference with a 23-27-9 record but only seven points shy of the Ottawa Senators for the second wildcard position. In the midst of a three-game losing skid, the Penguins will look to return to the win column when the club retakes the ice Tuesday against the Metropolitan Division rival Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins have failed to qualify for the postseason in each of the past two seasons.