Injuries sideline Penguins F Rutger McGroarty, 4 others for rest of season

Field Level Media|published: Thu 10th April, 16:38 2025

NHL: Chicago Blackhawks at Pittsburgh Penguins

Apr 8, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Rutger McGroarty (2) shoots the puck as Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy (5) defends during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Pittsburgh Penguins have ruled out promising rookie winger Rutger McGroarty and four other players due to injuries with three games remaining in their season.

Pittsburgh (32-35-12, 76 points), which has been eliminated from postseason contention, announced Thursday that McGroarty (lower-body injury) and forwards Tommy Novak (lower body), Blake Lizotte (undisclosed), Noel Acciari (undisclosed) and Matt Nieto (undisclosed) will be sidelined.

The Penguins have games remaining Friday at New Jersey and at home on Sunday against Boston and April 17 against Washington.

McGroarty missed practice on Thursday after taking a shot off his left skate during Pittsburgh's 5-0 victory over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.

McGroarty, who turned 21 on March 30, has one goal and two assists while averaging 14:37 of ice time in eight games. He was playing on the first forward line with superstar center Sidney Crosby.

The Winnipeg Jets selected McGroarty 14th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft and traded him to Pittsburgh in August 2024 for forward Brayden Yager.

"It's disappointing because he was playing real well and we thought it was a great experience for him to get NHL games," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.

McGroarty could heal in time to be sent back to the franchise's AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, for a playoff run. He had 14 goals and 25 assists in 60 games with the AHL squad.

"We're hopeful that Rutger's injury will come around," Sullivan said. "We're hopeful that Wilkes-Barre will play long enough that he has an opportunity to help them continue to have success down there. That's an important experience for him as well."

Acciari, 33, has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 79 games this season. Lizotte, 27, has 20 points (11 goals, nine assists) in 59 games. Nieto, 32, has one goal and two assists with 20 blocks and 39 hits in 32 games.

Novak, 27, appeared in two games since the Penguins acquired him from Nashville on March 5. He collected 22 points (13 goals, nine assists) in 52 games with the Predators.

Pittsburgh recalled forwards Vasily Ponomarev, Emil Bemstrom and Valtteri Puustinen from the AHL on an emergency basis.

--Field Level Media

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