Penguins Shut Down Several Forwards For Remainder Of Season

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be shorthanded for the final three games of the regular season.

Head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters following Thursday’s Penguins practice that forwards Rutger McGroarty, Noel Acciari, Blake Lizotte, Matt Nieto, and Tommy Novak will miss the remainder of Pittsburgh’s season. There is a slight chance McGroarty could make an appearance in the Calder Cup playoffs for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

“It’s disappointing because he was playing real well, and we thought it was a great experience for him to get NHL Games,” Sullivan said, per team-provided video. “We’re hopeful that Rutger’s injury will come around. We are hopeful that Wilkes-Barre will play long enough that he will have an opportunity to have success down there.”

McGroarty was injured when he blocked a shot in Tuesday’s victory against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Forward Philip Tomasino, who is sidelined with a concussion, skated by himself before practice, but a timeline for his return is unknown.

With the Penguins down six players up front, they recalled three forwards, Emil Bemstrom, Vasily Ponomarev and Valtteri Puustinen, from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis.

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