Rust has missed the last three games but it looks like he'll play Friday vs. the Coyotes. Rust will be back on the top-line with Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel and comes in with 17 points (9G / 8A) in 14 games this season.
Bemstrom was a healthy scratch on Tuesday but will draw back in for Eric Robinson on Thursday. Bemstrom was dominant in Sweden last year but has just nine points (3G / 6A) in 26 games in the NHL this season.
Rust skated this morning but remains day-to-day and will not play against the Blues. With Patric Hornqvist and Rust both missing from their top-6, the recently signed Stefan Noesen is expected to make his Penguins debut.
Bemstrom has appeared in all 26 games this season but will be scratched in favour of Eric Robinson on Monday. Bemstrom had a five-game point streak in early-November but has recorded just one assist in his last six games.
Letang has missed the last eight games with a lower-body injury that he suffered on November 4th, but was back at practice on Sunday and was activated from IR this afternoon. Letang will likely replace Zach Trotman on the blueline and skate with Brian Dumoulin and take over as the quarterback on PP1.
Crosby is expected to miss at least six weeks so the move to IR was simply a formality to open up a roster spot to call-up some reinforcements--in this case, it's Joseph Blandisi.
Crosby has been dealing with a nagging sports hernia and opted for surgery on Thursday. This is obviously a massive blow for the Penguins but Evgeni Malkin has often elevated his game when Crosby is out. Crosby was known as injury-prone early in his career but has become much more durable in recent years, so this is uncharted territory for this Pittsburgh team. In fact, Crosby has missed just 19 games over the last six seasons, appearing in 96.1 percent of regular-season games over that span. Expect Jared McCann to continue to skate as a top-6 centre while Crosby is out.
Crosby suffered a lower-body injury vs. the Blackhawks on Saturday and will not play Tuesday in New York and will likely miss Friday's game in New Jersey as well. Jared McCann moved up between Jake Guentzel and Alex Galchenyuk in Monday's practice, so look for him to skate there against the Rangers.
Crosby was forced to leave Saturday's game vs. the Blackhawks with a lower-body injury and it seems as if he could miss Tuesday's game in New York. The Penguins have yet to release any information on Crosby's status but look for Jared McCann to skate in Crosby's spot if he can't play.
Letang missed Thursday's game against the Islanders with a lower-body injury that he suffered late in Monday's game in Boston. Letang will miss at least a couple of weeks, which has become a trend throughout his career. Letang missed 17 games in 2018-19 and has missed 20.7 percent of the games over the last five seasons.
Letang was forced to exit Monday's game in Boston with a lower-body issue and will not play against the Islanders on Thursday. With Letang out, John Marino will move up to play on the top-pair with Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz will man the top power-play unit.
Malkin has missed 11 games with a lower-body issue but will be back in his familiar second-line centre and PP1 role this afternoon. Malkin had one goal in two games before getting hurt.
Graves was a healthy scratch on Wednesday but will replace Mark Barberio on Friday night. Graves has one goal, one assist and a plus-5 rating in 11 games this season.
Malkin has missed the last 11 games with a lower-body injury but was on the ice during Friday's practice and has a chance to return on Saturday. Malkin, who has one goal in two games to start the season, remains a game-time decision so monitor his status on Saturday morning.
Malkin returned to the ice on Monday but will not play Tuesday vs. the Flyers. Instead, Malkin is hoping to be back in the lineup vs. the Oilers on Saturday. Continue to monitor Malkin’s status as the weekend approaches.
Rust has missed the first 11 games of the season but is eligible to come off of LTIR and make his season debut on Saturday. Rust skated on the second line with Nick Bjugstad and Patric Hornqvist in Friday's practice. He had 18 goals and 17 assists (35 points) in 72 games a season ago.
Hamaliuk was a second-round pick (No.55 overall) in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. The 6-foot-4, 193 lbs. winger had 26 points (11G / 15A) in 31 WHL games last year but has opened this season with 10 points (5G / 5A) in 12 games with the Kelowna Rockets.
