When asked about building up to a level of comfort and confidence that allowed him to even attempt a play like that, Rust said that trying to have more of a finishing touch is something he's been working on over the years.
It resulted in him scoring a team-leading 27 goals last season, and currently tying Crosby for second on the team with 11 goals.
"My skating has been there, I try and work hard out there, and then obviously just keep trying to work on my offensive game," Rust said. "Things have come along recently."
And while today's victory was ultimately a team effort, the Penguins relied heavily on their top trio of Rust, Crosby and Guentzel through the influx of injuries that have taken down several key forwards.
After it was announced on Friday that Evgeni Malkin would be week-to-week with a lower-body injury - joining sidelined forwards Jason Zucker and Teddy Blueger - winger Brandon Tanev was a late scratch for this afternoon's game. He took warmups but it was ultimately determined that he could not dress.
"Tans is out right now with an upper-body injury," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's being evaluated right now and he'll continue to be evaluated once we get back to Pittsburgh."
And while the Penguins were fortunate to get Jared McCann back after he missed the last five games with an upper-body injury, they still had to play without several important guys.
So the Crosby line stepped up particularly big, led by the captain himself, who had his legs under him from the drop of the puck - which is no surprise, as he is among the best in NHL history in day games. He finished with two assists, earning the secondary helper on Rust's tally and setting up Guentzel for his team-leading 13th goal of the year.
"He was a threat from the drop of the puck," Sullivan said. "And when he is, I think he gives us a chance to win each and every night. He's always been inclined to do that. I think that's part of his leadership. That's part of his character. It's just part of his DNA. And that's been my observation, since I've been here, anyway. He certainly stepped up for us tonight. I thought he had a great game. I thought his line has had a great game. But he's such a key leader in that aspect of it."