Mike Sullivan provides updates on Crosby, Rust, Aston-Reese and Matheson.

I have not gone and looked at any of the research on this topic, but off the top of my head it feels like over the past few seasons the Pittsburgh Penguins must be among the most cursed teams in the entire National Hockey League as far as injuries are concerned. The injury bug has been a constant topic of discussion in Pittsburgh as of late and unfortunately that trend continued on Saturday.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan provided an update on several of his players today and unfortunately there will once again be a number of Penguins who will be forced to sit on the sidelines this evening.

First let's get to the bad news. Sullivan was able to confirm that veteran forward Bryan Rust would not play tonight when the Penguins take on former Penguins goaltender Marc Andre Fleury and the Chicago Blackhawks. Rust has been sidelined with an undisclosed ailment at this time and it sounds like he is still being evaluated by the Penguins. As a result we don't know exactly when he can be expected back in the lineup.

Rust won't be alone on the sidelines either with Sullivan also confirming that veteran defenseman Mike Matheson will also be out of the lineup tonight. Matheson missed the Penguins season opener as a result of what the team has described as a nagging lower body injury, one that has caused him to miss practice time as well. The Penguins listed him as day to day around the time of the season opener, so hopefully that means he won't be out for much longer.

There was some good news from Sullivan on the day as well, although it was relatively minor. Sullivan hinted at the fact that we could see Zach Aston-Reese make his long awaited return to the lineup with the Penguins bench boss describing Aston-Reese as a game time decision for tonight's contest. 

The news regarding forward Sidney Crosby also seemed to be positive with Sullivan indicating that the Penguins captain was progressing in his recovery. Crosby skated prior to the Penguins practice this morning alongside Ty Hennes as he continues to get ready for his eventual season debut.