Pittsburgh Penguins' Bryan Rust rises slowly after being checked to the ice by San Jose Sharks' Patrick Marleau during the third period in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final series in Pittsburgh on May 30, 2016. Penguins forward Bryan Rust will be a game-time decision for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final.Rust left the series opener on Monday at the midway point of the third period after he was in the head by San Jose winger Patrick Marleau. The 24-year-old went out for one more shift after the hit before leaving the game for good.Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press
Penguins forward Bryan Rust will be a game-time decision for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final.
Rust left the series opener on Monday at the midway point of the third period after he was in the head by San Jose winger Patrick Marleau. The 24-year-old went out for one more shift after the hit before leaving the game for good.
Rust took part in Wednesday's morning skate and was declared a game-time decision by Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. He was labelled as day-to-day with an upper-body injury following Game 1.
"Just seeing how things go, and how I feel after the skate and how I feel moving through this afternoon," Rust said.
Marleau was not suspended for the hit on Rust, who has made a big impact for the Penguins this spring. He scored two goals in the club's Game 7 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference final, adding the first goal in Monday's 3-2 win over the Sharks.
He has six goals and nine points in 18 playoff games. Beau Bennett or Oskar Sundqvist is likely to draw into the Penguins lineup if Rust is unavailable.
The Sharks are expected to get winger Matt Nieto back for Game 2. He hasn't played in more than three weeks because of an upper-body injury suffered in Game 6 of San Jose's second-round series against Nashville.