Who stays, who goes when Bryan Rust rejoins the Penguins lineup?
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First things first, let’s just acknowledge the phrase “when everyone is healthy” does not have a practical application in hockey.
There’s always a puck off a toe or a shoulder rammed into the glass or a groin tweaked by an ice rut or a simple bout of the flu that always seems to pockmark any NHL club’s roster.
So saying “whenever everyone is healthy” in the NHL is like saying “when I win the lottery” or “when I lose this extra 40 pounds” in that it’s just not going to happen.
But the Pittsburgh Penguins could come close to getting almost everyone healthy as soon as Tuesday. Forward Bryan Rust, sidelined for the past 10 games with an undisclosed ailment, is eligible to be activated from long-term injured reserve and could rejoin the lineup for a home game against the rival Washington Capitals.
Rust has been a full participant for a handful of practices and optional morning skates as of late, and while nothing is certain, there is plenty to suggest he is able-bodied enough to resume playing.
With the lone exception of fourth-line winger Matt Nieto (absent for the past 13 games with an undisclosed ailment and currently designated to regular injured reserve), the Penguins will have a mostly healthy lineup.
And that will lead to a few problems, albeit good ones, which will impact all four lines.
Rust essentially has a mortgage on the right wing role of the first line. His potential return will create a trickle-down effect on the other three lines and even the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ roster.
Here’s a look at who could be affected by Rust being back in the lineup.
Rickard Rakell
Having recently returned from his own undisclosed injury, Rakell has enjoyed his most productive play of the season while filling in for Rust on the top line alongside Sidney Crosby at center and Jake Guentzel on the left wing. Through six games with that assignment, he has generated five points (two goals, three assists).
“They’re so good at finding those scoring areas around the net,” Rakell recently said of playing with Crosby and Guentzel. “The other teams focus so much on them, I try to find open space in the offensive zone.”
In contrast, he was limited to four assists in the first 17 games of the season while predominantly skating on the second line with center Evgeni Malkin and left winger Reilly Smith.
There really isn’t a “wrong” choice between Rakell or Rust for either line. But history likely suggests Rust will get favored nation status with regard to the top line.
Drew O’Connor
While Rakell and Rust were sidelined over the past handful of weeks, O’Connor routinely saw assignments on the top two lines and posted seven points (three goals, four assists) in 18 games since Nov. 22 (Rakell’s first game out of the lineup).
As of late, O’Connor has been on something of a heater with three points (one goal, two assists) in his past four games.
During a 4-2 home win against the Blues on Saturday, O’Connor scored an impressive goal off a pass from Malkin in a sequence that looked akin to something Malkin might have orchestrated with former wingers such as James Neal or Petr Sykora.
“One of the things we like about (O’Connor’s) game is his skating ability and his ability to close, his puck-pursuit game,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said after Saturday’s game. “That helps (Malkin’s) line because he gets in on the forecheck, he creates loose pucks, he goes to the net when we have possession, which I think is an important element of playing with (Malkin) and Reilly. He has a little bit of finishing touch to his game.”
O’Connor is likely bound to return to the third line, but he has provided evidence that he can be a viable option in a top-six role when the need arises.
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Valtteri Puustinen
This one is the trickiest to figure out. Not just with regard to what line Puustinen could skate on but what team.
Meaning, he could be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton just because the Penguins may need to make some in-house transactions to remain compliant with the salary cap with Rust’s possible activation from long-term injured reserve. Puustinen does not require exposure to waivers to be assigned to a minor league affiliate.
But if the realities of the salary cap did not exist, Puustinen would be an automatic player to keep in the lineup. In 10 games, he already has seven points (one goal, six assists) despite irregular deployment among the top-six forwards and the top power-play.
“It’s helping so much for me because I want to score,” Puustinen said. “Now, I know this is possible to score here, too. I can try doing (it) the same way and a little bit better.”
Jansen Harkins
Before this past weekend, it looked like Harkins might be the first candidate to head back to Wilkes-Barre considering how little he had produced in his first 18 games of the season.
To be specific, he had not produced any points before Saturday.
Then, in his two most recent games, he has generated impressive primary assists on consecutive days.
During Saturday’s win, he stole a clearing attempt by goaltender Joel Hofer and set up linemate Jeff Carter for a goal.
Then on Sunday, he was promoted to the third line and offered a slick pass allowing Lars Eller to open the scoring in a 3-1 home win against the New York Islanders.
“After a while, you just want one to kind of drop,” Harkins said of his first point after Saturday’s game. “Happy it worked out in the game, helped us win. If you work hard, eventually it’s going to come. Hopefully can build on that.”
Harkins has already spent time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, and a return to Northeast Pennsylvania wouldn’t be anything new. But he would need to clear waivers before any assignment.
Radim Zohorna
Against the Blues, Zohorna took an avoidable tripping penalty in the third period against former Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen that led to a goal by Kapanen approximately two minutes later.
Less than 24 hours later, Zohorna was a healthy scratch against the Islanders.
But even before his penalty, things had not been trending in a good way for Zohorna in recent weeks. Before scoring a goal in a 7-0 road win against the Islanders on Wednesday, he had gone 20 games without a goal.
“I had a good start (to the season),” Zohorna said Saturday morning. “Then a little bit (of a) drop after a couple of games. I’m not making a lot of points. That’s the biggest issue, I think.”
Primarily deployed on the third line, Zohorna has generated seven points (four goals, three assists) in 29 games this season, by far the most contests he has played in his four years in the NHL.
“He had a great training camp,” Sullivan said. “He ignited that third line when we had brought him up (from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) and put him in the lineup. When he was playing with (Eller and O’Connor), that line was really good for us for a number of games. Then, I thought there was a little bit of a dip in his play in different aspects. Part of it for (Zohorna) is just adjusting to the grind of the schedule and being able to bring a certain level of intensity night in and night out.”
Zohorna opened the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and would also require waivers to return there.
Vinnie Hinostroza
Hinostroza replaced Zohorna in the lineup Sunday and was primarily stationed on the fourth line, logging 7 minutes, 58 seconds of ice time on 16 shifts. He had been a healthy scratch in the five previous games.
Having cleared waivers as recently as Dec. 16, he can be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with ease. If nothing else, that would clear a roster spot and a bit of salary cap space to activate Rust.
Note: The Penguins had a scheduled day off Monday.