Nick Robertson Scored Twice on Sidney Crosby's Wing and Bryan Rust's Injury Keeps the Job Open

Nick Robertson needed one game to make the fantasy hockey crowd pay attention. Playing on the top line next to Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell, the former Maple Leaf scored twice in his Pittsburgh debut as the Penguins opened the 2026-27 season with a 7-0 demolition of the Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Wednesday night.

The win was historic on several fronts. It was the largest road shutout in a season opener in NHL history, per The Hockey News, and it tied the franchise's most lopsided shutout of Philadelphia, a 7-0 win from March 1988. Arturs Silovs stopped all 19 shots he faced, and 14 of Pittsburgh's 18 skaters registered at least one point. Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang also collected their 494th regular-season win together, the most ever by a trio in league history.

How Robertson got the top-line job

Robertson's spot on Crosby's wing was not the original plan. Bryan Rust suffered an upper-body injury in a preseason game against Buffalo on Sept. 26, and the Penguins placed him on injured reserve Monday. General manager Kyle Dubas described the recovery as week to week after the team initially believed it would be a day-to-day issue. Rust was one of five Penguins who opened the season on injured reserve.

Coach Dan Muse slid Robertson into Rust's spot with Crosby and Rakell, and the 25-year-old wasted no time. He opened the scoring at 7:26 of the first period by deflecting a Letang pass from the right slot past Dan Vladar, then added his second at 11:52 of the third on a shorthanded rush, when his shot missed the net, caromed off the end boards and went in off Vladar. Pittsburgh acquired Robertson from Toronto on July 1 for a 2028 fourth-round pick, a modest price for a winger who has always had a shooter's profile but never had a steady top-six role with the Maple Leafs.

Robertson was also reported to be filling in on the top power-play unit late in camp while Rust was hurt. Depth charts that still list Rust on PP1 alongside Erik Karlsson, Crosby, Rakell and Tommy Novak are describing a healthy lineup that Pittsburgh does not currently have.

The rest of the scoresheet

This was not a one-line show. Filip Hallander had a goal and two assists, Hendrix Lapierre had a goal and an assist, and Ville Koivunen, Malkin and Egor Chinakhov also scored. Koivunen's goal came at 15:44 of the first when Samuel Girard hit him in transition during a Flyers line change, and he went in alone to beat Vladar between the pads.

Malkin made it 3-0 with a power-play one-timer from the left circle at 5:03 of the second period after a give-and-go with Lapierre. That goal was his 100th career point against Philadelphia, making him the sixth player to reach that mark against the Flyers. Pittsburgh scored twice on the power play overall. Muse told reporters the contributions from the newcomers were good for the team for multiple reasons, and the box score backs him up: the depth scoring is the story as much as the Robertson debut.

On the other side, Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet was blunt, saying in effect that his team did not want to engage and that Pittsburgh outcoached and outplayed the Flyers in every area. Vladar allowed seven goals on 38 shots after seeing only one abbreviated period of preseason action because of an upper-body injury. Matvei Michkov had one shot on goal, and rookie Porter Martone took the cross-checking penalty that led to Malkin's goal before being demoted from the top two lines, according to Broad Street Hockey.

Fantasy fallout

Robertson is the obvious add. Rostership in most leagues will lag behind the box score for another day or two, and a winger skating with Crosby, plus possible power-play time, is the type of opportunity that usually goes for a high waiver priority by the weekend. The catch is the timeline: Rust is week to week, not long term, so this is a window rather than a permanent promotion. Managers in deep leagues and those with injury holes should grab him now and treat everything he produces before Rust returns as profit. In shallow 10-team formats, he is a speculative stash at best.

Silovs is the more interesting goaltending decision. He entered the season as the projected 1A with Sergei Murashov pushing behind him, and a shutout in his season debut gives him the early grip on the crease. Silovs posted a .887 save percentage last season, so the underlying ratios still carry real risk, and Murashov's strong AHL numbers (a .919 save percentage and 2.20 goals-against average) mean the leash will not be long. For now, Silovs is a fine streaming option in favorable matchups but not a set-and-forget starter.

Malkin, at 40, remains a useful power-play contributor, and Lapierre's two-point night on a give-and-go with him is worth monitoring in deeper leagues. Hallander's three points came largely in a blowout, so he is a watch-list name rather than an add.

On the Flyers side

Philadelphia fantasy managers should not overreact to one ugly night, but the specifics matter. Vladar's limited preseason work showed, and Tocchet's comments suggest a coach willing to shake things up quickly. Martone's demotion is the clearest signal: rookies who lose top-six minutes in Game 1 often spend weeks earning them back, and his early-season fantasy value depends entirely on deployment. Michkov remains a hold, since one quiet game from a third-year scorer is noise.

What to do in your league

Add: Nick Robertson in any league with 12 or more teams, and in shallower formats if you have an open bench spot. Prioritize him in leagues that count shots and power-play points.

Hold: Bryan Rust, who is week to week and should reclaim his spot on Crosby's line when healthy. Do not drop him for Robertson; the two can coexist on your roster for a couple of weeks.

Stream with care: Arturs Silovs, who earned the next start in most projections but carries ratio risk. Check the confirmed starters each morning on Daily Faceoff before locking him in.

Bench: Porter Martone until he gets top-six minutes back.

Betting angle

Pittsburgh was not widely viewed as a contender entering the season, and a 7-0 road win against a division rival will move perception quickly. That is the moment to be careful. Philadelphia's goaltender was coming off an injury-shortened preseason, and blowouts in Game 1 tend to inflate a team's price for the next game more than the underlying play justifies. Bettors should look at how the market adjusts Pittsburgh's line for its next game before assuming value on either side. Verdexed's game-by-game probabilities live at /nhl/predictions, and the daily picks pages run at /blog/nhl-picks-2026-10-03 as the schedule fills in.

What's next

The Penguins play their home opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, Oct. 3. Watch two things: whether Robertson stays on Crosby's line and, more importantly, whether he is on the first power-play unit. If both are true, his value climbs further. Also watch whether Muse goes back to Silovs or gives Murashov an early look, which would tell fantasy managers a lot about how this crease will be split over an 84-game season. For the Flyers, the response under Tocchet in their next game will say whether Wednesday was a stumble or a warning.