Remember that little slump that Bryan Rust was mired in not that long ago?
It's nothing but a fleeting memory.
Over the past nine games, he has accumulated 11 points (four goals, seven assists) on the way to getting his season back on track. And in his most authoritative display that he is, in fact, back, he put the Penguins ahead of the Hurricanes in the third period Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena before they ultimately fell in overtime, 4-3.
Really. This is a different Rust than the one who seemed to barrel his way into the zone for rush chances at will during the 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup runs, but don't tell me you aren't getting a little deja vu when you watch this:
Yowza.
Not to be overlooked by that sweet move to the outside or assertive cut to the front of the net, how about that initial burst of speed to take advantage of all the ice he had to work with?
When Rust's hands and feet are in sync, it can make for some pretty hockey when he gets a full head of steam going.
Of course, sometimes everything needs to go right for pretty hockey to happen. And it just so happens that was the case here.
"Good little breakout play and I saw they had a forward coming off the bench who had a horrible gap, so I just tried to take him wide and take him to the net," Rust would say of his goal after the game.
That forward coming off the bench with a horrible gap? Jordan Martinook. All due respect, he's definitely toward the bottom of the list of forwards who played in this game who I'd want defending the rush as a defenseman.
Not to say Rust wouldn't have done that against an actual defender, but let's be real, you know there's a big -- if extremely temporary -- confidence boost the second he realized he was going up against someone who's out of position.
You might remember this previous Freeze Frame in which Rust took advantage of another forward, Patrik Laine, defending the rush as a defenseman. The difference this time is that Rust made it count and buried his chance.
This one needs no high-level technical breakdown. Rust baited to the inside with the puck primed to his side, and as soon as he did so, Martinook made whatever you want to call that defensive play. Rust went right around him while showing off impressive lower-body strength in addition to hanging onto the puck before tucking it far-side on Antti Raanta.
That's as close to vintage Rust as you'll get.
