Penguins Update: Rust Suspended Three Games for Hit

Bryan Rust will miss the Penguins’ upcoming homestand beginning with Thursday night’s clash with the Blackhawks.

The plucky winger was suspended by the NHL for three games today in response to his hit to the head of Canucks winger Brock Boeser during the wild closing seconds of the Pens’ 3-2 victory on Sunday night.

It’s the first disciplinary action of any type enacted against Rusty, who generally plays a hard but clean game, over the course of his 12-season NHL career.

The hustling winger is currently third on the team in scoring behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin with 18 goals and 39 points in 47 games.

He’ll certainly be missed. Too, his absence will no doubt have an unwelcome trickle-down effect on the makeup of our forward lines, all of which have been humming lately.

No word yet on who’ll replace him, although spare forward Kevin Hayes is a likely candidate.

On the plus side, it appears the Pens dodged a very large bullet (cannonball) concerning Malkin. More specifically, his wonky left shoulder. Anthony Mantha bumped into Geno on the bench at the end of Sunday’s game, causing No. 71 to collapse in apparent agony.

Fortunately…remarkably…Geno seems to be okay. He was a full participant in today’s practice. (Whew!)

The Pens are 20-9-7 with the big guy in the lineup and only 6-5-4 without him.