Bryan Rust is not one of the Penguins’ core penalty-killers.
Not yet, anyway.
But even though they rely primarily on Nick Bonino, Carl Hagelin, Matt Cullen, Tom Kuhnhackl and Eric Fehr when short-handed, Rust appears to be taking on a more prominent role in the unit.
“Coach [Mike Sullivan] is gaining more confidence in me, so I seem to be finding myself out there a little bit more,” Rust said before the Penguins faced the Los Angeles Kings Friday night at PPG Paints Arena. “Especially when maybe there’s a [penalty-killer] in the box, or maybe there’s a guy who isn’t doing as well on a particular night.