It's not as if this was a new feeling for Bryan Rust.
Not when he's done it 101 times since entering the NHL.
But when he scored the Penguins' first goal in their 4-1 victory against the Canucks Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena, Rust didn't react like a guy who's accustomed to burying pucks behind opposing goaltenders.
And understandably so.
For when he took a feed from Kris Letang and, while dropping to his right knee, drove a shot past goalie Thatcher Demko from inside the left circle 49 seconds into the second period, Rust pulled out of a drought that had stretched over 10 games -- a total that doesn't include the seven he missed because of an injury sustained in the second game of the season.
As the puck slammed into the back of the net behind Demko, Rust pumped both arms vigorously several times, an animated display of exuberance not often associated with non-conference games in November.
"You could tell by my celebration that it was a bit of a relief, for sure," Rust said.
He has been around the game to understand that even elite-level goal-scorers -- an exclusive club to which Rust has not been offered membership -- suffer through an occasional dry spell, and that perspiration and persistence are the most effective antidotes to whatever happens to be ailing a goal-scorer at any given time.
"I've done that before, gone through streaks where I haven't produced or haven't played well," he said. "You just kind of stick with the process. You have to simplify, and keep working. I tried to do that, and was rewarded with a goal tonight."
Rust has scored more than 22 goals just once in his career, so he isn't likely to challenge, say, Alex Ovechkin or Auston Matthews for the Rocket Richard Trophy.
It would, however, be folly to try to measure his contributions to the Penguins simply by assessing his offensive statistics.
"(Rust) does so many things to help our team have success," Mike Sullivan said. "He's just a good two-way player. He's good on both sides of the puck. He brings a ton of speed to the game, on both sides of the puck. He does a lot of things, even if he doesn't score a goal."
Although Rust is an accomplished penalty-killer -- he has five career goals when the Penguins are down a man -- he is averaging just 12 seconds of shorthanded work per game this season. He is, however, tied with Letang for second on the team in average power-play time (3:25).
His place on the top power-play unit likely made his goal all the more satisfying, since Rust scored while Kyle Burroughs was serving a hooking minor. That was the only time the the Penguins scored in four tries against the NHL's lowest-ranked penalty-killing unit.
"For us, it's nice to see a goal go in on a power play," Rust said. "It's been a little bit of a struggle this year."
The Penguins are confident their power play, which is anchored in 30th place in the league, with a conversion rate of 12.1 percent, will begin to produce to expectations, and seem to believe the same of Rust.
He seems secure in his place alongside Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel on the No. 1 line, a role that is a significant upgrade over the blue-collar duties Rust handled earlier in his career.
"Over his time here, his tenure here in Pittsburgh, his role has really evolved," Sullivan said. "He's grown into one of our better offensive players. That's why he's been playing with Sid, and he's played with (Evgeni Malkin). The last couple of years, he's played in our top-six.
"He's scored a fair amount of goals for us. When the expectation is for players to score, it's hard (for a slump) to not affect those guys, because that's their nature and they understand that the team relies on them to score."
When a reliable scorer hits the kind of dry spell Rust just went through, there isn't necessarily much a coach or teammate can do to help lift him out of that rut.
The most a coach can expect to do in such situations, Sullivan suggested, is to offer advice, stressing the importance of distilling the player's game to its core components.
"Shoot the puck," Sullivan said. "Don't overthink it. Just focus on the process. ... In my experience, that's the most effective way to try to help players through those struggles and the schedule when they don't find the back of the net."
The Guentzel-Crosby-Rust line still is not operating at peak efficiency -- consider that Crosby has just two points in seven games since returning from offseason wrist surgery -- but Rust believes the unit is jelling.
"I think we're building," he said. "Over that whole Canadian trip, we had some really good moments, and then we had some moments where we could try to learn some things to build on. ... For the most part, we're trending in the right direction. We're working as a unit out there. We're staying close, getting opportunities."
So far, only Guentzel, who has a team-high eight goals in 18 games, is scoring as expected. And even he endured a six-game stretch during which he failed to score.
Guentzel's slump didn't last quite as long as the one Rust just ended, but it did underscore the reality that no one is exempt from going through a drought. And that a player with a track record of producing points is a pretty safe bet to regain his touch after it disappears.
"Jake went through a little stretch earlier in the year, and now he's starting to score," Sullivan said. "We believe (Rust) is going to do the same thing."
