NHL suspends Penguins’ Bryan Rust for hit to head

PITTSBURGH — This story initially appeared on PghHockeyNow.com.

Pittsburgh Penguins top-line winger Bryan Rust has been suspended for three games, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced on Tuesday.

Rust is being disciplined for a hit to the head of Vancouver’s Brock Boeser on Sunday at the end of the Penguins’ 3-2 win over the Canucks. It is the first time in his career that he has been suspended.

In an explanatory video, the NHL noted that Rust was penalized for an illegal check to the head of Boeser, causing an injury. Boeser subsequently was put on IR.

“During a net-front scramble at the Penguins goal, Boeser looks to collect the puck as Rust skates in from the slot,” the video notes. “As Boeser finds the puck and attempts to play it toward the net, Rust loads up and delivers a high, hard check that misses Boeser’s core, picking his head and making it the main point of contact on a check where such head contact was avoidable. This is an illegal check to the head.

“It is important that both elements of the illegal-check-to-the-head rule are satisfied on this play. First, the head is the main point of the contact, as Rust’s shoulder and arm make direct contact with Boeser’s head, and it is the head that absorbs the majority of the force. Second, the head contact on this play is avoidable. Rust takes a poor angle of approach, choosing an angle that causes him to cut across the front of Boeser’s body, missing the core. Rust then raises his arm and leans into contact, causing direct contact with Boeser’s head, with requisite force for supplemental discipline. If Rust wants to deliver this check, he must stay low at an angle that hits through the shoulder and core rather than one that makes the head the main point of contact.”

Click here to read more from our partners at Sports Now Group Pittsburgh.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

©2026 Cox Media Group