Pittsburgh penguins

Bryan Rust struggles with a lower body injury on a daily basis.

The attacker was kept off the ice for the third day in a row on Friday. Rust’s absence over the past two days was labeled as maintenance.

Rust, normally a first-line right winger with center Sidney Crosby, tied with Erik Karlsson for third on the Penguins last season with 56 points (28 goals, 28 assists) in 62 games.

Karlsson, who had been suffering from an upper body injury on a daily basis, trained for the second day in a row on Friday.

The defenseman didn’t make contact during a morning skate, rotating on the third defensive pair and working on the top power play with Evgeni Malkin, Rickard Rakell, Kris Letang and Crosby. Rust would be part of that unit if healthy.

Before Thursday, Karlsson had not practiced since training camp began on September 18.

“We’re trying to get him reps in certain situations,” coach Mike Sullivan said Friday. “When you miss a guy that size for pretty much all of training camp, it’s going to be tough because we’re trying to integrate these guys into different aspects of the game. He’s obviously a big part of it.”

Sullivan said Tuesday he was confident Karlsson could play when the Penguins open the regular season at home against the New York Rangers on Oct. 9.

Karlsson should probably make contact first before playing in a match. The Penguins have three scheduled full practices before the opener.

Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is week-to-week with a lower-body injury after leaving in the first period of a 5-1 preseason win against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.

Nedeljkovic, Tristan Jarry’s expected backup, started the final 13 games for the Penguins last season. He signed a two-year, $5 million contract on June 20 to remain in Pittsburgh. –Wes Crosby