Penguins forwards Brock McGinn, Bryan Rust enter covid-19 protocols
Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Brock McGinn and Bryan Rust did not play in Saturday’s road game against the Dallas Stars after each tested positive for covid-19. Both players have been placed into the NHL’s protocols for the virus.
Coach Mike Sullivan announced their statuses to media Saturday in Dallas.
McGinn was one of the team’s few players who had not missed a game this season. In 33 games this season, McGinn has 13 points (nine goals, four assists) while averaging 15 minutes, 29 seconds of ice time.
Rust’s season has been disrupted by various injuries. Appearing in only 15 games, he has 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) while clocking an average of 18:17 of ice time. Since returning from his latest injury, Rust has been highly productive with 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in his past three games.
Sullivan indicated McGinn tested positive Friday, and Rust’s test was conducted Saturday.
After assigning forward Radim Zohorna to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Friday, the Penguins did not have any reserve forwards immediately available and were expected to dress an irregular lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Their options for a seventh defenseman were Mark Friedman and Juuso Riikola.
In 11 games this season, Friedman has four assists while averaging 14:10 of ice time. A healthy scratch for the past 20 games, Friedman has not played since Nov. 13.
Riikola has played in five NHL games this season and has a single assist as well as an average of 13:23 of ice time. He also has played in six American Hockey League (AHL) games and recorded six assists with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season.
During the early stages of the 2019-20, the Penguins deployed Riikola for a handful of games as a fourth-line left winger.
Notes:
• Penguins forward Jeff Carter returned to the lineup after missing the past three games because of covid-19. In 27 games this season, Carter has 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) while averaging 18:48 of ice time.
• The Penguins started goaltender Tristan Jarry. In 26 games this season, Jarry has a 17-5-4 record along with a 1.90 goals-against average, a .933 save percentage and three shutouts.
• The Penguins entered Saturday with a 10-game winning streak.
• The Stars started goaltender Jake Oettinger. In 10 games this season, Oettinger has a 7-2-0 record, a 2.24 GAA and a .922 save percentage. In his second NHL season, Oettinger has never faced the Penguins.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.