The Penguins have won two in a row but it’s going to be tough keeping that modest streak going. Tonight, they will play at Vancouver against the team that leads the NHL’s President’s Cup standings, and they will do so without Bryan Rust, who did not accompany the team to the Pacific Northwest yesterday after being injured Sunday against Philadelphia.
Rust has an upper-body injury and with Jake Guentzel already missing from the top line, it appears Sidney Crosby will be skating tonight with Rickard Rakell and Reilly Smith on his wings. Guentzel skated yesterday for the first time since going on long-term injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. Guentzel got on the plane yesterday, but he is not eligible to return from the injured list until March 10th, and with the trade deadline the day before, it’s not even certain he will ever skate for the Penguins again.
By any measure, coach Mike Sullivan will miss the offense provided by Rust and Guentzel. In an ongoing discussion of analytics with media members yesterday, Sullivan said statistical analysis can be misleading.
The Pens and Canucks skate at 10 o’clock tonight. We’re on the air on 92.5 FM U92 at 9.
