By MATT VENSEL

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

(TNS) —Rutger McGroarty will be sidelined for the rest of Pittsburgh’s season, and it might take a long Calder Cup playoff run for him to play for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton again.

Coach Mike Sullivan broke the news after McGroarty missed practice Thursday.

“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. “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 help them continue to have success down there.”

The coach also announced that injured forwards Noel Acciari, Blake Lizotte, Matt Nieto and Tommy Novak will all miss the final three games of Pittsburgh’s season.

There is a chance that Philip Tomasino, who has a concussion, could return before the season is over. He skated on an individual basis before Thursday’s practice.

With the Penguins now down six players up front, including injured enforcer Boko Imama, they recalled Emil Bemstrom, Vasily Ponomarev and Valtteri Puustinen from their American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton on Thursday.

McGroarty, a former-first round pick, was the highest- profile player lost to injury.

The rookie winger was injured when he blocked a shot in Tuesday’s victory against the Chicago Blackhawks. He was seen leaving PPG Paints Arena in a walking boot.

The 21-year-old held his own in a top-six role for the Penguins the last two weeks, and he was expected to be returned to the AHL club once the NHL season ended.

A longer-term absence will be a significant blow to the Baby’ Pens postseason hopes. McGroarty was one of their most productive players in the season’s second half.

They are already reeling a bit without him. They have lost three of four games since McGroarty and Ville Koivunen were called up to Pittsburgh on March 28. And their roster has been raided recently with all the injuries to Pittsburgh’s forward group.

The injury could mark the end of an eventful first season as a pro for McGroarty.

The Penguins acquired him from Winnipeg last August after he signaled to the Jets that he would not sign with them. He made the NHL roster out of camp, in part due to injuries,

Andersen/Getty Images/TNS and played his first three NHL games before being assigned to the AHL.

McGroarty started the AHL season a little slow offensively but earned rave reviews for his work on the defensive side. Eventually, the points started to come for him. He had 14 goals and 39 points in 60 games when he got the call back to Pittsburgh.

“Anybody who watched him every day saw the progress he was making,” said AHL coach Kirk MacDonald, who had trusted the young winger to play in all situations.

Sullivan gave McGroarty an opportunity to skate on Sidney Crosby’s line during this NHL stint, with some time with Evgeni Malkin mixed in during Tuesday’s victory. McGroarty also played on both special-teams units. He was injured on the penalty kill.

McGroarty finished the season with one goal, three points and an even plus-rating in eight games with Pittsburgh. His first NHL goal came last Thursday at St. Louis.

“I feel good,” McGroarty told reporters after that game. “I feel like there’s still just little things that I’ll keep learning, keep picking up and reading off of [Crosby]. He’s still helping me through it. It’s really cool, and I’m looking forward to keep going.”

Unfortunately for him, the injury to his left foot has brought his campaign to a halt.

Acciari and Nieto were apparently injured in the win over the Blackhawks, as well.

Acciari, who has one more year left on his contract, was a useful role player for the Penguins this season. He had just 12 points but he leads the team with 100 blocked shots and 180 hits and was used by Sullivan in high-leverage defensive situations. Nieto, whose contract is up in July, split the season between the NHL and the AHL.

Novak has been sidelined by a lower-body injury since March 9. The Penguins initially labeled him as day by day. Novak played just two games in black and gold after being acquired from the Nashville Predators two days before the NHL trade deadline.

Lizotte missed Tuesday’s game and was also declared out for the season Thursday. The summer signing had 11 goals, 20 points and a minus-4 rating in his 59 games.