Penguins Practice: McGroarty, Koivunen Fill Top-Six Roles

CRANBERRY — Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen, who were recalled from the Pittsburgh Penguins’ farm team in Wilkes-Barre Friday, were slotted into the high-profile roles with the parent club during practice Saturday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

McGroarty, who was acquired from Winnipeg in 2024, skated at left wing on the No. 1 line with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust, while Koivunen was on the second line with Rickard Rakell and Connor Dewar. The Penguins got Koivunen from Carolina in the trade that sent Jake Guentzel to the Hurricanes at the trade deadline last year.

Those two also figured prominently in the Penguins’ power-play groupings. Koivunen was on the top unit, with Crosby, Rust, Rakell and Matt Grzelcyk, while McGroarty, Philip Tomasino, Kevin Hayes, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson made up the second one.

McGroarty, who did not get a point in three NHL appearances earlier this season, has 14 goals and 25 assists in 60 games with Wilkes-Barre. Koivunen, who has yet to play in the NHL, has 21 goals and 34 assists in 62 American Hockey League games.

Here are the other personnel combinations coach Mike Sullivan deployed during the practice:

Noel Acciari-Kevin Hayes-Philip Tomasino
Danton Heinen-Blake Lizotte-Emil Bemstrom

Matt Grzelcyk-Kris Letang
Conor Timmins-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves-Vladislav Kolyachonok

Malkin, Joseph work out

Evgeni Malkin and P.O Joseph, both of whom are recovering from unspecified upper-body injuries, had an on-ice workout for about 45 minutes before the full-team practice.

Malkin has missed the past two games, while Joseph has sat out the past 12.

Imama’s season over

Penguins forward Boko Imama underwent surgery today at UPMC Mercy Hospital to repair a bicep injury and is facing a recovery time of 4-6 months.

Imama, who will be a free agent this summer, had one goal and 30 penalty minutes in 16 NHL games this season.