Penguins' Bryan Rust tracking toward return to lineup in New York

NEW YORK – Pittsburgh Penguins winger Bryan Rust avoided a serious lower-body injury and could be back in the lineup as soon as Wednesday night against the New York Rangers.

Rust said he “got twisted up along the boards and got caught in an awkward position” in the first period of last Saturday night’s game against the St. Louis Blues. He sat out Monday’s game in Minnesota, but took part in morning skate Wednesday, skating in his regular spot on the top line alongside Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel.

“Things definitely could have been worse,” Rust said. “To be back, getting real close here this quick definitely is a little bit of a relief.”

Rust snapped a 21-game goal drought with a Dec. 12 hat trick in Chicago. Since then, he has eight goals and 11 points in his last nine games.

For Rust, the five goals and eight points in the subsequent eight games were probably more significant than the three-goal outburst in Chicago. That shows the improvement in his game is more than just a few pucks finding the back of the net.

“That does give me confidence knowing that if I kept playing the way I was playing, working hard, moving my feet, that things could continually happen,” Rust said. “Hopefully get back to that.”

While Rust was out, Zach Aston-Reese filled in on the top line. He scored a goal in St. Louis and set up a goal in Minnesota with a steal on the forecheck. The steal, in particular, caught Rust’s attention.

“I always get a smile on my face when I see plays like that happen because those are the plays I’m usually a part of,” Rust said.

With Rust close to returning, Aston-Reese returned to the fourth line with Riley Sheahan and Matt Cullen at morning skate. Derek Grant looks to be a healthy scratch.

Matt Murray will start in net. Counting regular season and playoffs, Murray is 5-0 with a total of nine goals against at Madison Square Garden.

It’s the first meeting of the season between the Penguins and Rangers, who are in the midst of a rebuild but have won back-to-back games over Nashville and St. Louis and sit in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division.

“Especially lately, a lot of teams have picked it up a bit (in the division) and they’re definitely in the conversation,” Sidney Crosby said.

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Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jonathan at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BombulieTrib.