Pittsburgh Penguins winger Bryan Rust tangled with Philadelphia Flyers defenders at the offensive blue line five minutes into the third period of the Penguins’ wild 7-6 win at PPG Paints Arena.
Rust hunched over, shaking his left hand, and left the ice. He did not return.
Coach Mike Sullivan updated Rust’s condition following the game, though details were scant.
“Right now, he’s being evaluated for an upper-body injury,” Sullivan said. “We’ll see after his evaluation if he travels or not.”
Rust was part of the Penguins’ offensive explosion, scoring a pair of goals and registering three points. He led all players with six shots on goal despite playing just 14:57. Sidney Crosby was credited with five points, including a goal, but scorers later removed an assist.
Special teams and a late lead altered the Penguins lines, though Reilly Smith took a couple of shifts with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell following Rust’s injury.
Rust has missed 13 games this year, primarily due to an unrelated upper-body injury suffered earlier on Dec. 6 in Tampa Bay.
The Penguins visit the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday on the first of a four-game western road trip. The Penguins have won two in a row and trail the Philadelphia Flyers by only seven points with four games in hand.
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