In a day that’s seen a flurry of roster moves from the Pittsburgh Penguins, some good news is coming in the form of the returns of forwards Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust. Per the NHL, they were activated today in advance of the Penguins’ game against San Jose.
In corresponding moves, however, the Penguins removed four players from the active roster. Brian Boyle is on a short personal leave of absence after the birth of his daughter, but forwards Jeff Carter and Kasperi Kapanen and goalie Tristan Jarry were also removed, as they entered COVID protocol last week.
Guentzel has been out of the lineup since December 8 with an upper-body injury, but he still remains the team’s leader in points. The 27-year-old has 15 goals and 12 assists through 24 games, a testament to how banged up the Penguins have been this year.
Rust is having a really tough season with injuries, being limited to only 12 games. He missed the entire month of December with his second lower-body injury of the season.
In their returns to the lineup, they’ll likely resume their top-line roles flanking Sidney Crosby.