Bryan Rust has never been shooting quite this well at any other point in his NHL career.
Rust scored twice in the Penguins' 5-4 shootout win over the Kings on Saturday night at PPG Paints arena, tying the game in the second period after the Penguins fell into a 2-0 hole in the first.
Rust's first goal came at 3:31 of the first period, beating Kings defenseman Sean Walker in the slot:
Rust tied the game late in the second period on the power play, getting the finish on another setup by Jake Guentzel:
Those goals bring Rust's total to 12 goals in 19 games, nearing his career high of 18 goals from last season in a little over a quarter of the number of games. His shooting percentage of 17.39 is currently a career high, and leads all Penguins skaters currently on the roster.
Rust added a primary assist, his 10th assist of the season, setting up Teddy Blueger's goal midway through the third period. Rust's shot hit Kings defenseman Matt Roy and trickled past Jonathan Quick, and Blueger knocked in the loose puck sitting in the crease:
After Jack Johnson scored his second goal of the season, the Kings scored twice in the final five minutes of regulation to force overtime. After a scoreless overtime period, the game went into a skills competition shootout.
Each team's first three shooters were unsuccessful. Rust shot first in the fourth round of the shootout, and scored:
"That's been my move since I was little," Rust laughed. "I kind of lost it a little at the blue line, the ice was brutal. But I regained it, I was able to make the move."
The Kings' Adrian Kempe lost the puck on his attempt in the fourth round, and the game was over. Rust was named the No. 1 star for his three-point night and shootout game-winner.
Rust thought the team's comeback performance with some key players out spoke to their perseverance.
"It was just a character win," he said. "We have a lot of guys out. Down by two, up by two, then they tie it at the end of the game. It was a bit of a rollercoaster game, we tried to stay even-keel throughout the entire thing."
And for Rust personally, with this new level of personal success being a big contributor to the team success during a time when everyone needs to step up, the game is just more fun.
"The game is fun right now," said Rust. "Just trying to take it in stride, trying to get better every day. Things are going well right now."
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