Penguins place Bryan Rust on injured reserve, recall, and return Jonathan Gruden.
The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Bryan Rust on injured reserve Thursday afternoon, several hours before their 10 p.m. game in Seattle against the Kraken.
In a related move, fellow forward Jonathan Gruden was called up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Gruden was officially assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton prior to Thursday’s game against the Kraken.
Rust’s designation comes after coach Mike Sullivan announced that the 31-year-old winger is out week-to-week due to an unspecified upper-body injury sustained Feb. 25 during a home game against Philadelphia.
Rust had 18 goals and 18 assists in 42 games, playing regularly as the club’s first-line right wing alongside Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, the latter of whom is on long-term injured reserve.
He is not accompanying the Penguins on their current four-game road trip, which began Tuesday night in Vancouver with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Canucks.
Gruden, a 23-year-old rookie, has been recalled four times this season from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, appearing in five games for the Penguins.
In those games where he did not score, he averaged 7 minutes and 20 seconds on ice.
In 41 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Gruden has 13 goals and 10 assists.
He was most recently recalled on February 15 and played 7:18 against the Chicago Blackhawks before being returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton three days later.
Gruden, a left-handed shot, has primarily played on the Penguins’ fourth line during his time in Pittsburgh.
Gruden made his NHL debut with the Penguins last season, appearing in three games.
He has yet to score an NHL point in eight career games.
Gruden’s performance in the AHL has been quite different, with 45 goals and 50 assists in 202 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton alone.
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