Penguins' Bryan Rust off to fast start heading into matchup with Red Wings

Playing in Detroit always has an appeal to Bryan Rust.

A native of Pontiac, Mich., the Pittsburgh Penguins forward grew up going to Red Wings games at the hallowed Joe Louis Arena rooting for his favorite players, forwards Martin Lapointe and Steve Yzerman.

(The attraction to Yzerman, a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, is obvious. As for Lapointe, a gritty bottom-six forward, a grinning Rust shook his head and said, “I don’t know” when asked for a reason Lapointe appealed to him.)

“It always means something playing against the team I grew up rooting for,” Rust said. “Obviously, it’s not the same rink that I used to go to as a kid. But still, it’s special to go home and have so many people there. So much family and friends. And to be able to have dinner the night before, it’s always special.”

Another special memory: the Red Wings’ current home, Little Caesars Arena, is where Rust became a 20-goal scorer for the first time in his NHL career.

During a 2-1 overtime road win Jan. 17, 2020, Rust beat goaltender Jimmy Howard and reached the threshold that often validates an NHL player’s offensive acumen.

“Yes,” Rust said when asked if he remembers that goal. “It just adds to why I just like to play there.”

Rust and the Penguins will play there at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, and he enters the contest with three goals over his first three games of the 2023-24 campaign.

What has sparked such a surge?

“I’m just moving my feet right now,” Rust said. “I’m out there working hard, trying to do the little things. Trying to not worry about anything else but just win the game.”

Rust scored two important goals in the Penguins’ most recent win, a 5-2 victory Saturday at PPG Paints Arena. In addition to scoring the Penguins’ first goal that tied it 1-1 early in the third period, he scored an empty-netter near the end of regulation to secure victory.

His fast start represents a considerable change from the faltering pace he displayed throughout most of last season. While Rust did reach the 20-goal mark — with 20 exactly — for the fourth consecutive season, he was largely dissatisfied with his overall body of work.

“For me, it was consistency,” said Rust, who posted 46 points in 81 games last season. “I don’t know if effort is the right word. Consistency of execution, maybe. Maybe not moving my feet probably nearly as much as I would have liked. That can show its face in all sorts of situations offensively and defensively. Just having that little extra one, two percent of will to get things done. I don’t know why, but for whatever reason, it might have been lacking last (season).

“I know in my head and my heart, I wanted to give my all and wanted to be the best out there. Over the summer, I realized I had another percent or two and worked hard over the summer. That’s going to be my mindset throughout the whole year.”

Rust entered the first year of an ample six-year contract with a salary-cap hit $5.125 million last season. While he rejects a suggestion that the deal amplified any vexation he experienced, he admitted it created some greater expectations — from himself — to perform better.

“If anything, that maybe put a little bit more pressure on myself to do a little bit more,” Rust said. “I realized that’s probably the wrong thought process to have. Just go out there and do it. Be successful (in the ways he has been) in the however many years before that.”

Much of Rust’s success isn’t solely rooted in putting the puck into the net. As one of the team’s fastest skaters, he has carved out a valuable role as a lead forechecker on the top line alongside linemates Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel.

“He brings so much to the game,” Guentzel said. “A lot of it goes unnoticed. He plays in all situations. He plays a lot of minutes. He does a lot of things that some people might not notice, but I just think the world of him.”

The pursuit of another 20-goal campaign hasn’t gone unnoticed by Rust.

“It means you’re a consistent offensive threat night-in and night-out,” Rust said. “In order to score 20 goals, I think you’ve got to be able to put yourself in a position to make plays. You’ve got to be able to finish some goals.”

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