Before he even stepped off the Consol Energy Center ice on Wednesday morning, a gaggle of cameras, boom microphones and reporters awaited Bryan Rust in the Penguins’ dressing room.

“They know nobody’s there, right?” Pittsburgh forward Nick Bonino quipped, staring at the monstrous scrum.

Welcome to the Stanley Cup final, Mr. Rust. A pack of hounding reporters eager to learn your status for Game 2 is the reward for scoring four goals in the last three games.

“This is a little unexpected,” Rust said. “A little bit new to me.”

Officially, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Rust is a “game-time decision” after Patrick Marleau’s borderline hit knocked Rust out of the final 10 minutes of Game 1. But all signs point to Rust being available for the Penguins’ push to grab a commanding 2-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup final.

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Rust said he skated on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

“Obviously, you want to play,” Rust said. “I feel good so far. I’m just going to take it through the afternoon and see what I feel like come game time.”

Rust said he didn’t concern himself much with the fact that the NHL’s Department of Player Safety decided to not suspend Marleau. In a series of tweets on Tuesday, the NHL explained Marleau did not target Rust’s head and that the main point of contact was Marleau’s back, not elbow.

“The hit is what it is,” Rust said. “The league looked at it, they dealt with it, they did what they thought was right. I didn’t really take much time to look at it or think about it.”

Contact Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @frank_seravalli